Paul Lippe on an Entrepreneur’s Accountability

Paul Lippe is CEO of Legal OnRamp, a community of practice website for lawyers. He did a guest post on the AmLaw Daily Blog “Welcome to the Future: Leadership, Accountability, and Swimwear” that I enjoyed, in particular his observations on the entrepreneur’s accountability were worth bearing in mind in 2009.

Paul Lippe on an Entrepreneur’s Accountability

Legal OnRamp strives to simplify innovation and value delivery, primarily for in=house lawyers but also for law firms, both by providing tools to innovate and by sharing examples of success.

We have 7,000 members, probably 3,000 of whom have contributed content or otherwise added value. Perhaps 1,000 have contributed ideas on how to make our service better. Ninety nine percent of the good ideas and 99.9 percent of the work have come from someone other than me. More than 400 law firms and more than 700 companies are participating.

There are at least 100 things that need to go right; there are 200 things that could go wrong. When we started, 80 percent of lawyers thought we were nuts; 14 months later, 80 percent of lawyers think we’re the future. I “control,” in a formal sense, very little of this.

Still, if Legal OnRamp fails, it’s my fault.

There are no words we love to hear more than “it’s not your fault.” Whether from our mother, our friend, our cleric, or our consultant, when something goes wrong, we cherish absolution.

So let’s be clear: if you are running a law firm and it fails, it’s your fault.”
Paul Lippe in “Welcome to the Future: Leadership, Accountability, and Swimwear

The balance of the article is worth reading, he addresses the need to plan for a more competitive environment in 2009. Although his intended audience is managing partners at law firms it’s very applicable to software and consulting firms as well.

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