I’m Melissa Shanahan, and this is The Law Firm Owner Podcast Episode #220.

Welcome to The Law Firm Owner Podcast powered by Velocity Work for owners who want to grow a firm that gives them the life they want. Get crystal clear on where you're going. Take planning seriously and honor your plan like a pro. This is the work that creates Velocity.

Everyone, welcome to this week's episode. I am so glad you're here. And listen, I know I say that every single week but I say it because I mean it. I am so grateful that you show up here. You listen to these episodes; it means a lot to me and I'm just deeply appreciative of the listenership.

When I get to meet you all out in the wild, out in the real world, that means a lot to me. I just got to do that last week, I had a speaking engagement and I got to meet people who are listeners of the podcast. It fills my heart. I really am thrilled that you are here and tuning in. I don't just say that as a flippant intro, I really do mean it.

I thought I'd take a pause to say that because I do say it every week, and I could see how it seems like it's mechanical and just what I say, but I say it because I mean it. So, thank you for being here.

All right, let's dig into today's episode, which is what I think I'm going to title something to do with “The Storm Before the Calm.” If there's one thing I know for sure when you own a business, there are times that require more of you than would ever be required of you if you are an employee at a job. That is just the truth.

For sure, if you are a listener of this podcast, every one of you is working to create leverage and space, and freedom of time and money, so that you can have more margins of those things. That you are more rich with time, and more rich with money. Those margins increase over time.

The journey to that is not a cakewalk, if it was everybody would do it. There is no overnight version of this. It takes work. It takes consistently showing up over time, putting one foot in front of the other in the best way you know how. And as you grow, you get more leverage, you get more space, you get more freedom. Your margins are increasing in all areas, financial and otherwise, and it becomes easier and easier to create more of that. Your creation of those things speeds up.

However, there are still times, no matter where you are on the spectrum of entrepreneurship and on the timeline of your company, there are always going to be times that requires you to step in, in ways that other people just wouldn't, because it's yours. The further you go along in your business and the more leverage you gain, the less you have to do this.

But the truth is, there's always going to be those times where you really have to get eyeball deep in something and work really hard with something, for something, put a lot of energy and efforts and resources into something. And then, you'll experience the calm.

But I call this ‘that storm before the calm.’ Because there are times, and I have a few things to say about the spectrum of where your business is in regards to this, but there are those times that do require more of you as an owner. You want to look at those times as short term, and it is the storm before the calm.

Now, I was talking to some law firm owners recently and one of them said, “The storm is really long.” And you know we giggle about that, but there are a few things that you need to ask yourself if you feel like you're in a storm right now. That it's a storm, but on the other side is calm and you know it, but you're having a really hard time getting out of the storm.

I want you to consider a few things. Because by considering these few things, you may be able to speed up the storm. You may be able to decrease the length of time that the storm is going to exist before you get to the calm. I guess, to give a little more context too, the reason that this was discussed is because not only do I witness this time and time again with law firm owners and their companies, but also for myself, like this is part of what it means to own your own company, is to have those periods.

I recently was having a conversation with Tara Gronhovd, who's been on the podcast before and is an absolute expert when it comes to team dynamics. I was having a conversation with her, and there was a period where there was a lot going on at once, in terms of growth for our company, specifically relating to hiring and to people.

I was pretty tired when I was talking to her. I was pretty exhausted. There's a lot that goes into all of this, as you all know. And she said, “What is it that you are feeling right now? Like, what's your perspective right now?” Because I think she's trying to make sure that I'm good. That even though this feels tough, she's trying to assess out what is my mental state, what is my internal state, and what's my perspective about this.

Because then she'll know where she needs to go with things. She'll know the right questions to ask. And so, when she asked that question, I sat and I thought about it. I said, “This all feels very necessary. It feels like the storm before the calm.” Now, I forgot I said that.

The only reason I remembered, and I can be doing this podcast episode here, is because her and I have another meeting scheduled for this week, as I'm recording this. And so, she sent me the notes from our last session, so we could really make sure to pick up where we left off and remember what was going on then, and have some good discussions now.

In the notes, is where I read that I said that. I remember saying it now, when I read it, but I haven't remembered that since that session; that left my brain. But it was very interesting to read that now because I am mostly through the storm that I was in the eye of when I was talking to her.

That really struck me, that my depiction of the scenario that I was in and the necessity of it, and just my perspective on it, that feels very true. Even now that I'm mostly through that storm, it still feels like oh, I was right. I'm surprised that I was able to articulate it that well.

Though I forgot entirely about it, now I'm hearing it two months later and it still feels like that was exactly the case. When you're in it, it's your own stuff and it's a lot messier. So, there's that. But now that I do have some space and I do have some perspective, now that I'm mostly through the storm, so to speak, and I'm reminded of what I said when I was in the middle of it, now I can see everything more objectively.

Now I can see where clients experience the same exact thing. I've never called it that for them. But I haven't been the one to articulate their interpretation of it. I think sometimes when we are in it to that degree, we are in the storm before the calm, it is very difficult to articulate anything about where we are other than it's overwhelming.

It feels like a hot mess, and you are doing the very best you can. You are trying to approach this as organized as you can. You are really putting your best foot forward. But it's not perfection, it doesn't feel like perfection. Most people listening to this have a perfectionistic bone in their body, and so in moments like these, it can feel really overwhelming and grating that you can't create that sense of perfection when you're in the storm.

That is not how it's ever going to go. As business owners, we are always going to go through those storms before the calm. Maybe I should have said this earlier. I mean, obviously this is a flip on the analogy of ‘the calm before the storm.’ But in this, it really helped me. I've talked to a few law firm owners about it, and it kind of helped them name the spot that they're in.

Because I think, sometimes we think, when we're caught up in that craziness of the storm, it's hard to see the end of it. You have to know and you have to believe that there is an end to it. So, here's the second part of what I wanted to share, in case it's helpful.

The first part I'm sharing because it might be helpful to you to identify and have a name for what it is that you are going through. Because every single business owner, every single law firm owner, is going to have these periods. Looking at it, and having the perspective that it's ‘the storm before the calm’ can be really helpful, because naming it is always helpful.

But it also can help you see that this is not going to go on forever, and you can decide that that is true. Your decisions, when you're in the storm, matter. You have to line yourself up with the best outcomes possible, and this is where a sense of perfectionism can really steer you wrong. It can keep you in the chaos a lot longer than you need to be.

You need to be nimble. You need to be agile. You need to be able to be willing to make decisions for the sake of the outcome that you're really looking for. So, I'll say more about this.

If you find yourself in a storm, so to speak, and you don't feel a lot of progress, it just feels like you're spinning in the storm, and you want to believe that it is the storm before the calm but there's a cynical side of you that jokes around and wants to say, “The storm is really freaking long.”

When, if you find yourself there, where you wish there was more progress or faster progress, the question to ask yourself… which we're coming back to, again, like we do often… is, how are you complicit in perpetuating the storm?

And if you didn't buck the question, if you didn't defend or get defensive internally about… Like, “Well, I'm not. I just am not finding the right person. This just isn't lining up yet.” If you just don't allow all of that. This isn't the time for that. This is the time to understand how you are complicit in creating the conditions you say you don't want.

That requires to get quiet, and ask yourself, honestly, and as objectively as possible, how are you contributing to perpetuating the very state that you're in, that you don't love? What do you need to let go of? What do you need to invest in? Who do you need to hire?

What process do you need to stop dragging your feet on creating? How do you need to get more aggressive and direct with creating the outcome that you say you want? What do you need to stop doing that you're currently doing? What do you need to start doing that you're not doing? What's really in your way?

These are all questions that you can force yourself to answer that will reveal how you are being complicit in perpetuating the storm that you're in. We all get really busy, and so it's very easy to sort of run with the assumption, because we have good intentions, sort of run with the assumption that we are doing everything we can.

But when you really stop and get honest, you don't have the bandwidth. Most people listening to this do not have the bandwidth to sit down and get creative, or to sit down and hold your own feet to the fire for creating what it is that you say you want. Or lifting the delay that you are imposing. I think we can all relate to this on some level.

Some of the biggest changes I've ever made in my life, are when I'm so sick of it, the thing that I'm dealing with, the result that I keep getting, I'm so tired of it, it becomes so painful, and annoying and nagging and frustrating that then I pull a lever to just make it all go away. To fix it. To finally, freaking fix it.

This is very human; this is very normal. I think the more we go along and you learn from every time you do that, the more you can stay ahead of things to where it doesn't have to be that painful. But sometimes it has to be that painful.

Many of you heard that I hired a running coach. I mean, I could have done that so long ago, but I didn't. I did it when I was finally so tired of dealing with the same set of excuses, the same lack of completion on the things that I said I was going to do within that realm of my life. It was just something that I was really frustrated… I was over it, that's the best way to say it, I was over it.

What are you just over? When we get there, that is typically when you will just make the calls that need to be made, make the decisions that need to be made, in order to line yourself up with what it is you say you want. Period. Done. End of story. You are not dealing with this anymore.

Many people, when you stay in the storm long enough, you will get there, but it is so miserable to get there. Where you allow the frustration and overwhelm to take over so much so that you have to make that call. You have to do something that you weren't willing to do before, and it sort of opens up your brain to consider options that you never would have considered before.

If you can recognize, though, that you were in the storm before the calm, and you can speed up or you can decrease the length of time that you are spending in the storm, by asking yourself a few questions, which I presented earlier, that can really speed you up. Your answers can reveal the things that you are not doing that you need to start doing, or the things you need to start doing that you are not doing. It can wake you up.

Basically, I think sometimes we get woken up because of the amount of pain that we end up experiencing. You can wake up sooner with high quality questions. And so, I'm hoping that what I give you here does provide awareness, and it also provides answers for yourself on the next moves.

Someone recently said they already hired, and they're hoping to feel relief by October. They said the word “hope.” Like, “I hope by October I can feel relief.” My question back is, it's your job to make sure that you have relief in October. Taking the reins where we can, and make sure that that storm, before we feel a sense of relief, before we feel that sense of calm, does not drag on. What do we need to do to ensure that?

Make those decisions now. Keep the storm short. You're not going to avoid storms. You just aren't, as a law firm owner. Do you want to prevent them as much as possible? Of course, yes, but you're still going to find yourself in spaces, unexpected or otherwise, that feel like that. That require a lot of you. And once you can get this thing nailed, or get it to a certain place, you're going to feel a sense of calm, or a sense of relief.

You are going to continue to have those. How do you want to look at those? How can you decrease the amount of time in those? This all boils down to your perspective on it. Expecting them, first of all, from time to time. Your perspective on them. Knowing that you do have control over the length of them.

You don't have control over all of the variables that will allow you to dictate a very certain number of days, but you can certainly take the reins in so many ways that will decrease the length of time that you will spend in that storm. Versus, not taking a look at these things and not having awareness.

So, this really is about taking control where you have control. Getting really honest with yourself about how you're complicit in creating the conditions that you say you don't want. What are your answers to those questions that really back that up? And what can you do about it? That is, it. What can you do about it?

The storm before the calm, we're going to have those as business owners. That's part of the game. But how can you shift your perspective on it? How can you make sure that you don't feel stuck? Stuck is actually not a real thing, you're never really stuck; that's a perspective. You can change your perspective. You can make sure you're not stuck. You can make sure you experience progress.

You can get creative, and you can make decisions to keep yourself on a path of progress. Not perfection, progress. And if you find yourself with a perspective of anything other than that, there's work to be done here that puts you back in the driver's seat. That allows you to take control where you have control.

That doesn't mean you're going to control every variable. But if I came and sat down next to you, would I be able to find the things you are not taking control over? That you have an opportunity to take control over? Would I find things that are perpetuating the storm that you're in?

I say it like that because this isn't about you being in trouble because I might find things that perpetuate the storm that you're in. It's more about just having an awareness that very difficult to have when you are in storm. If you can imagine me or someone else that is sitting next to you, that can objectively see how you are contributing to perpetuating the storm that you're in. Really, you just want the calm. Really, you just want the relief. But how might you be complicit in perpetuating the storm that you are in? That is delaying the relief? That is delaying the calm?

All right, everybody. That's what I've got for you this week. I will see you here next Tuesday.

Hey, you may not know this, but there's a free guide for a process I teach called Monday Map/ Friday Wrap. If you go to velocitywork.com, it's all yours. It's about how to plan your time and honor your plans. So, that week over week, more work that moves the needle is getting done in less time. Go to velocitywork.com to get your free copy.

Thank you for listening to The Law Firm Owner Podcast. If you're ready to get clearer on your vision, data, and mindset, then head over to velocitywork.com where you can plug in to Quarterly Strategic Planning, with accountability and coaching in between. This is the work that creates Velocity.

‍