Velocity Work

Are you at a crossroads with a particular team member? Is exhaustion and frustration at a tipping point when it comes to navigating your team? Do you have a hunch that you shouldn’t give up on someone, but also feel like you don’t have the time, knowledge, or resources for the next right step?    Returning guest Tara Gronhovd is an expert on team dynamics, and she's back this week to share her insights on when to keep investing in your relationship with your team and when it might be time to let someone go. She’s sharing her wisdom around creating alignment and clarity in your team dynamic so you can create relationships and an environment that serves your entire company.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/193

Do you know what Mastery Group is and how it works? Well, in this episode, Melissa is giving you all the details on what it's like inside Mastery Group, and most importantly, how it functions to serve you as a law firm owner. The content in the podcast is a great place to start, but Melissa goes even deeper inside Mastery Group.   Discover the evolution of Mastery Group and why it is the place to be for facilitated quarterly strategic planning. Melissa is sharing how Mastery Group works for you, why nobody can do this work alone, and how to see the endless benefits of being part of the group this quarter.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/192

What potential are you sitting on that you need a little help to bring to the surface? Melissa’s guest this week started her own practice during the height of the pandemic; she was bringing in clients and revenue, but lacked the direction that would allow her to serve sustainably. That’s when she found Melissa.   Soulmaz Taghavi is an immigration attorney and an amazing example of what Velocity Work does for law firm owners. She built a structure that allowed her to serve her clients and herself on a new level, slowing down so she could speed up and get her house in order, and she’s here to share everything that went into that process.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/191

Family law, estate planning, and criminal defense lawyer Christine Diorio opened the doors to her law firm in the midst of the pandemic in 2020. Since joining Mastery Group a year later, she’s dialed in on her Rocks, doubled her revenue every year, and grown her team, all while expanding her time and freedom away from her practice, and she's telling us how she did it.   Listen in as Melissa quizzes Christine on her experience of Mastery Group and what it’s been like for her to grow as a law firm owner. Christine is sharing the impact having a supportive community has had for her personally and professionally, how progress over perfection allowed her to keep showing up, and the decisions that have got her to where she is today.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/190

How big can you grow a firm on your own? Melissa’s guest this week spent almost a decade not hiring or automating, and as a result, not expanding. However, when he started being intentional and decided to invest in the future of his firm, it started to grow beyond what he thought was possible.   Bobby Botnick is the founder of The Botnick Law Firm. Up until 18 months ago, he was a one-man-show, but he’s been bringing more people into his practice, and Melissa has been with him every step of the way. So this week, the two of them are sitting down to unpack the process of automation, delegation, and growth on the show.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/189

Melissa has witnessed the real uphill climb it can be for law firm owners to learn how to lead a team. In her own business, leading people has been more challenging than she ever thought it would be, but through her hunt for resources to help her be a better leader, she found Tara Gronhovd.   Tara Gronhovd is an expert on team dynamics and communication, and the CEO of Align: a company dedicated to working with teams and leaders of teams by providing leadership coaching and development. If you too are on a journey of figuring out how to bring the best out in your team, or feel like there’s a missing piece in leadership that you’re not quite nailing down, you’re in the right place.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/188

Tune in this week for the second half of Melissa’s conversation with Automation Wizard Ernie Svenson.   Ernie is discussing the seven KPIs we should all be measuring, the value of turtle steps, and how to take the concept of 80/20 deeper in your business by deciding on the most important areas of focus for your firm, as well as discussing a bunch of super-useful resources for any law firm owner.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/187

As a law firm owner, your have limited resources that need to be managed wisely. If you want to optimize your business to be more bulletproof and more flexible without incurring more costs, you need to get clear on exactly what you need to automate or outsource.   To get massive returns on your investments, you need to apply the 80/20 rule to your law firm. Someone who has dug deep into this concept as it relates to the practice of law is Ernie Svenson, a.k.a Ernie the Attorney, and he’s here this week to share how the 80/20 principle applies to your law firm, how he has used this rule to get massive returns on his investments, and his research on the tools that do the heavy lifting of optimization, automation, and outsourcing for you.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/186

Did you grab everything 2022 had to offer you? What did you learn? And what feels more true for you than ever before? These are the end-of-year reflection prompts Melissa has considered around her own life and business throughout this year, and she’s here to share them with you on this episode.    Listen in this week to hear Melissa’s lessons learned from 2022. She’s sharing her top three realizations from this year, and she’s inviting you to capture your own reflections before you move into 2023 so you’re set up to start the year with a different frame of mind.    Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/185

If you have a problem you’re facing in your firm, you need to apply a process to create the outcome you want. Instead of addressing issues in a one-off scenario, or making decisions that ultimately aren’t best for the health of your business, a clear process helps you develop something meaningful and sustainable while building accountability into the DNA of your organization.   Listen in this week as Melissa offers inspiration for you to form a process around something that currently feels a little sticky, and ideas for tweaking current processes that might not be producing a win-win-win scenario for you, your team, and your clients.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/184

Leadership is one of the biggest learning curves we have to navigate as entrepreneurs and law firm owners. If you’re baffled or frustrated by your employees not stepping up to lead, even though you feel like you’ve paved the way and given them room to, you’re in the right place.   There’s always one person Melissa goes to with questions around this topic: Molly McGrath. Molly is the team development and empowerment extraordinaire of Hiring & Empowering Solutions, and she’s here this week to show you how to get your employees to step up and lead, especially when you think they simply don’t have what it takes, or that they don’t care as much as you do.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/183

Is there an area of your business where you’re afraid of making decisions about what you really want because you can’t work out exactly how you’ll get that result? Stalling out on decisions is keeping so many people from achieving their goals, so if you’re undecided on what you want because you’re not sure how you’re going to get it, this episode is for you.   Spinning in the how, just trying to see a path forward without getting clear on the what guarantees that you will undershoot every single time. So, if you want to take the easier, faster path toward your goals, listen closely this week to discover how you’re getting in your own way, and what you can do to get out of it.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/182

The Holiday season is here, which means you finally get to come up for air, take a breath, and rest. Whether you want to spend time with your loved ones, prepare gifts, get your home ready and decorated, or travel, the truth is rest and rejuvenation don’t come easy.   Join Melissa today as she offers you a new way to think about your calendar for the Holidays. Whether you want to sink your teeth into something you’ve always wanted to try but haven’t had the time, or you just want to do nothing, feel truly rested and ready to start 2023 with renewed energy, you’ll find out how to carve out the time and space to do so.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/181

If you’re like most law firm owners, you’re probably very hard on yourself. It’s easy to focus on the obstacles in front of you, or the frustrations that still haven’t gone away. You might be afraid that by not being hard on yourself, you’ll become complacent. But this week, Melissa is showing you why layering judgment on yourself in this way is the lazy, default approach most people take.   Join Melissa this week to learn the secret to long-lasting results that line up with what you really want. You’ll hear why your future results become unrealistic and unsustainable when judgment is part of your plan, and how to create a plan that involves deliberate, incremental, and iterative progress.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/180

Building relational capital is vital for getting business through the door, but, like most lawyers, you likely want to do the things you love and excel at and not have to spend time on things like social media, a blog, or promoting marketing campaigns. This is why starting a podcast should be strongly considered as part of your growth plan.   This week, Melissa is speaking to Danny Ozment, the founder of Emerald City Productions: a podcast production and consulting company that helps people use one piece of content to expand their brand. Hear why starting a podcast isn’t as tough as you might think, and how it is a long-term investment that will amplify the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/179

Whether you identify as a solo firm, like Melissa’s guest today, or have a large team working with you in your business, you likely want to reduce as much friction as possible when it comes to getting work out and providing excellent services to your clients, especially on the backend items that aren’t actually generating value for your business.   Mastering the skill of delegation is a great solution for accomplishing tasks and getting closer to your Rocks, but what isn’t talked about enough is the power of automation using technology, and this is what firm owner Mitchell Zoll is an expert on. So, if you want to reduce the resources, time, and effort spent on the things that aren’t a value-add in your business, listen in.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/178

No matter how successful your business is, settings goals and making a deliberate, well thought out plan to get there is vital. Melissa’s guest this week is Jake Kimball, the cofounder and partner of Springs Law Group, a personal injury law firm, and he’s here to share an experience that many of you will resonate with. Jake is letting you in on his experience of struggling to honor his rocks, the pushback he felt when Melissa held him accountable, and what it took to get to the other side of having accomplished his goals.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/177

Discover why Monday Map/Friday Wrap is the tool you need to finally start working on what you've been putting off. After joining Mastery Group in September 2021, Aimee Gromowsky approached Melissa with an idea for Monday Map/Friday Wrap that has been a hit with all the members. She’s now the facilitator of our Monday Map Power Hour, and she’s here to tell you all about it. If you want to take control over your time, this is the process you need, and Aimee is sharing her insights on the power of facilitating a container for it to be done in community.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/176

Delegation is a vital skill you need as a law firm owner. Learning to delegate effectively is what will give you the freedom to pay attention to the things that no one else can do but you. However, it’s not always easy, and you most certainly won’t be perfect at it right at the very beginning.   This week, Melissa is coming to you live from Clio Con. She’s sitting down with a host of people who, because of their years of experience with effective delegation, have the freedom to be there. This was the perfect opportunity for Melissa to quiz them on lessons learned and the things that have brought them success, and they’re sharing their best tips with you in this episode.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/175

If you’re in a place where you have multiple people in your firm contributing to generating revenue, this episode is vital for your planning and projections for next year. And if you aren’t there yet but you know you will be, listen closely because this will serve you when you go to hire. Your firm has fulcrum numbers you have to be plugging in if you want to plan forward in a way that allows you to make smart decisions, and one of these data points is your team’s contribution to the firm’s revenue.   Tune in this week as Melissa breaks down her process for evaluating your team’s cost, revenue production, and the margins you’re left with. You’ll discover the importance of figuring out your firm’s ideal attorney to support staff ratio, how to start thinking of your team as units of production, and why using this data will cut through the noise and help you make smart projections so you can not only budget well, but create the team culture you want.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.v