Business Strategy: Perhaps the Answer is Both

Recently, I was speaking to an attorney I have the privilege of working with based in Washington, DC. He loves contracts and business disputes and the abstract things that many people find dry and boring. If you would like a referral, feel free to contact me and I am happy to put you in touch.

We were discussing how much work he would handle and how much work would be handled by another attorney. The problem was presented as an either or problem, trying to determine who would handle what as an all or none problem planning on having one attorney handle the entire next phase of a matter we are working on.

During the conversation, we outlined the important factors and pros and cons of each attorney, a few included:

• Experience
• Strengths: what each is known for and what they do best
• Rate: what was most cost effective for the company
• Difference in expected outcome: would the be any advantage of one vs another

When it came to make the decision, my immediate response was… can I have both?

My favorite word is both. Not because I feel I am particularly spoiled (though some might disagree).

The immediate answer that came to mind was let’s use each attorney for the specific strengths. Based on the lack of complexity and nuance in this particular matter, having a team approach allows the junior attorney to increase his skills, allows me to reduce direct costs and produces the best result.

Sometimes there is a barrier to this sharing, and that may be the case with extreme complexity or very high switch costs, but more often than not, there is a significant advantage to having multiple people with different blind spots and a blended ‘both option’ instead of merely a one off option.

What is something you are working on or looking at that might benefit from a ‘both’ solution?