http://exemplarlaw.ehclients.com/index.php/author/chris_marston_esq_principal/ en emelia@exemplarcompanies.com Copyright 2012 2012-02-22T15:22:07+00:00 http://www.exemplarcompanies.com/site/the_universal_principle_of_value_whats_missing_in_a_profession_thats_mis/ http://www.exemplarcompanies.com/site/the_universal_principle_of_value_whats_missing_in_a_profession_thats_mis/#When:20:17:34Z I have been putting a lot of thought lately into what it is about the profession of law that has gone astray and left so many professionals either miserable or driving them out altogether. The perceived “roots” of these problems have long been the subject of scholarly articles and current discussion: Lack of work-life balance, unchallenging work, systemic under-delegation, no diversity (and no more than lip service to solving the problem], competitive individualistic work environments, eat-what you kill systems, and, of course, the dreaded billable our system with it’s evil sister [quotas]. I have become passionate about Exemplar and the fixed-price model based on the subjective theory of value because executing on the business model Is DOMINO ONE to all of the other “symptoms” of a broken system. That’s right—the business model fixes and addresses each and every one of the factors that represent the deterioration of an honorable profession.  (READ MORE) I have been putting a lot of thought lately into what it is about the profession of law that has gone astray and left so many professionals either miserable or driving them out altogether. The perceived “roots” of these problems have long been the subject of scholarly articles and current discussion: Lack of work-life balance, unchallenging work, systemic under-delegation, no diversity (and no more than lip service to solving the problem], competitive individualistic work environments, eat-what you kill systems, and, of course, the dreaded billable our system with it’s evil sister [quotas]. I have become passionate about Exemplar and the fixed-price model based on the subjective theory of value because executing on the business model Is DOMINO ONE to all of the other “symptoms” of a broken system. That’s right—the business model fixes and addresses each and every one of the factors that represent the deterioration of an honorable profession. Many people have trouble understanding how to execute on a model that is based on the subjective theory of value so they depend on a far inferior model that is based on COST or TIME. The Time-based model has been long refuted by business experts and bear no relation to what the customer wants and values and yet the profession that is trained to ask the most questions asks none with regard to why we operate this way. Henry Ford put it quite well when he wrote: ” We do not bother about the costs. The price forces the costs down. The more usual way is to take the costs and then determine the price; and although that method may be scientific in the narrow sense, it is not scientific in the broad sense, because what earthly use is it to know the cost if it tells you that you cannot manufacture at a price at which the article can be sold?” What has become even more clear than the impact of Exemplar’s pricing model is that every once in awhile an industry or profession varies from the Universal Principle of Value and bad things begin to happen. The business model of billing by the hour started in the late 1950’s and since then the way they manage, measure, and compensate knowledge workers has changed. What our industry has seen in the past 5O years is the wholesale deterioration in quality of life, work-life balance, challenge, meaningful client relationships, and loyalty to people in general, but particularly the next generation. Our industry has missed the point. . . . it has gone too far astray from the Universal Principle of Value. We are an industry that is NOTHING without its people and yet it is leaving its own behind where financial gain can be attained. It is no wonder at all that so many professionals choose to vote with their feet and simply walk away. It is also no wonder that professionals like myself have taken a stand for what they believe in. for bringing our profession back into alignment with clients and with the Universal Principle of Value. . . . Because Exemplar is about so much more than a pricing model. . . it is about changing people’s lives. There is nothing more rewarding and humbling all the same than to lead our profession back to the center, the core, and one day reach the summit of Excellence at the crossroads of Great People and Profitability. Author James Davis Carter put it well when he wrote: ”. . Discovery of the power to aim at ideal ends freely chosen by his own free will and intelligence is the supreme achievement of man, and in that, more than any other in any other single fact, lies hope of the future” General 2009-11-29T20:17:34+00:00 http://www.exemplarcompanies.com/site/billing_by_the_hour_causes_cancer_direct_links_discovered_by_jurist_doctor_/ http://www.exemplarcompanies.com/site/billing_by_the_hour_causes_cancer_direct_links_discovered_by_jurist_doctor_/#When:08:03:47Z In Recent News, it was discovered that billing by the hour causes cancer in professionals who adopt these billing practices. The problem is said to start with cancerous “time-billing” cells in the brains of consulting and law firm partners. Since these cells infect the brain, causing irrational behavior in the partners thereby causing them to lose all common sense (to healthy hosts). In Recent News, it was discovered that billing by the hour causes cancer in professionals who adopt these billing practices. The problem is said to start with cancerous “time-billing” cells in the brains of consulting and law firm partners. Since these cells infect the brain, causing irrational behavior in the partners thereby causing them to lose all common sense (to healthy hosts). For instance: Common Sense: - The more effective I can be for the client, the more value this will have to the client. Thinking of Cancer-Infected Partners: - The more I drag this out and the more hours I can bill, the more this must be worth to the client. Yahoo! Let’s burn the midnight oil! The problem discovered by J. Doctor Marston was that organizationally, the cancer is infectious from the top down. Therefore, once the brain cancer infects the host partners, it quickly spreads to the other partners and junior staff in the firm. Interestingly, the cancer operates differently in those infected at lower organizational levels. Dr. Marston’s research discovered that the brains of associates are highly resistant to the cancer of the partnership initially. Unlike the partners, who actually believe they are operating under a economically sound billing model (although it is well documented that Karl Marx’s Labor Theory of Value has long been refuted!), associates and laterals do not immediately experience a chemical change in the brain causing them to believe that clients actually want to buy TIME! Studies show that the cancer first infects the associates in other body parts effecting motor skills and the nervous system. For example: —Big firm associates who become infected experience a “treadmill effect,” constantly worrying about not meeting their billable hour quotas. They think about time they spend with their loved ones as an opportunity cost . . . feeling like they “could be billing for that time instead.” They hate feeling that way, but cannot help it.—The cancer in associates also causes lethargy in partners and associates alike. Consequently, outside counsel and clients are left having to manage their consultants and attorneys by giving them deadlines to avoid over-consulting, over-lawyering, drag-outs, unnecessary 50-page memos, briefs, etc. After years of billing by the hour, infected consultants, attorneys, and lateral partners eventually get “billable brain cancer” and begin to believe that the only way to run a firm is bill by the hour. It is an unfortunate fate for those who experience it. Fortunately, some associates manage to escape the hamster wheel in time to get cured (most by leaving the profession and some by escaping to in-house legal departments where they watch from afar as their former colleagues become further entrenched by the nasty billable hour cancer at large firms! Fortunately, Exemplar (http://www.exemplarcompanies.com/) has created cancer-free professional services and law firms where the partners operate under economically sound principles, think of working effectively and adding value (not acting as fungible commodities billing time increments). Increments are Excrements! Adding value is what drives our attorneys to leverage their unique skills, rise to new heights, and please clients time and time again. A healthy lifestyle option has arrived in the legal profession. Exemplar Companies has found the cure to billable hour cancer! General 2009-11-12T08:03:47+00:00 http://www.exemplarcompanies.com/site/exemplar_ceo_speaks_at_alternative_fees_conference_in_san_francisco/ http://www.exemplarcompanies.com/site/exemplar_ceo_speaks_at_alternative_fees_conference_in_san_francisco/#When:07:56:22Z Exemplar CEO Speaks to General Counsels and Law Firm Leaders at the Arc Group’s Alternative Fees Conference in San Francisco, CA.  On November 11, 2009, law firm leaders and customer came together from across the nation to discuss alternative fee models.  At the conference, Exemplar’s CEO, Christopher Marston, presented how value-based pricing better aligns financial interests of firms with the success of the customer.  Exemplar CEO Speaks to General Counsels and Law Firm Leaders at the Arc Group’s Alternative Fees Conference in San Francisco, CA.  On November 11, 2009, law firm leaders and customer came together from across the nation to discuss alternative fee models.  At the conference, Exemplar’s CEO, Christopher Marston, presented how value-based pricing better aligns financial interests of firms with the success of the customer.  News 2009-11-12T07:56:22+00:00