The inaugural Crisp Game Changers Summit was an electric 2-day event with an awesome lineup of speakers, a room packed with 500+ engaged attorneys, and some surprise guests.
As a Crisp team member who spent an equal amount of time both backstage and in the ballroom where it all went down, I was fortunate enough to gain an immense amount of insight into what both speakers and attendees thought of the event.
With featured speakers including Chris Voss, David Goggins, Judy Smith, Ted Jenkin, and a surprise appearance by Jesse Itzler, the star-studded stage at the Crisp Game Changers Summit packed heat. Each speaker provided insight into their own unique backgrounds and shared applicable strategies that would help any law firm owner take their business to the next level.
Crisp CEO Michael Mogill takes the stage to drop some knowledge on how a law firm owner can build a game changing team.
And of course, Crisp CEO Michael Mogill pulled back the veil on the steps the Crisp team took to grow 1,158% in three years – while showing the law firm owners in the audience how they can apply the same steps in their firm.
While there’s no way to fully catch you up on what went down that weekend in Atlanta (after all, what happens at the Crisp Summit stays at the Crisp Summit), there are a few key takeaways we took home with us after the event wrapped up — in addition to some awesome Crisp swag.
Here’s what we learned it takes to build a game changing law firm:
1. Give up the good for the great
At the Crisp Game Changers Summit, we learned that in order to achieve greatness, you must wholeheartedly pursue and embrace great things. That means you should only hire the best people, work with the best vendors, and invest in the most effective marketing and development strategies.
This can be a hard concept to wrap your mind around, as many business owners are used to chasing after budget-friendly options and hoping for the best. But that isn’t a realistic expectation. True game changers are those who are determined to get where they’re trying to go, no matter what stands in their way.
As Crisp CEO Michael Mogill loves to say, “Good enough is not good enough.” For law firm owners who are determined to be the best in their market, you have to continuously find ways to distance the gap between your company and everybody else.
Attendees at the Crisp Game Changers Summit had the chance to brainstorm new ways to grow their firm while networking with 500+ other ambitious law firm owners!
Attendees at the Crisp Game Changers Summit heard from a number of Crisp clients who were finding new ways to distance the gap by implementing new marketing strategies in their law firm, including video marketing, community engagement, and partnering with community organizations.
The simple takeaway from all of this is that you can never be complacent.
To really drive the point home, every attendee went home with their very own “Never Complacent” shirt.
2. Your law firm should operate like a team, not a family
Day 2 at the Crisp Game Changers Summit was all about being a game changing team. We heard from certified conative expert Brittany Tucker on the power of Kolbe training, learned what a number of renowned law firm owners (including Brian Chase, Jan Dils, and Alex Shunnarah) do to maintain a strong company culture, and spent time learning from Crisp CEO Michael Mogill as he broke down the key things he does to keep Crisp’s team in tip-top shape.
The key word here is team.
As we learned at the Summit, many people think your company’s staff should be like a family. But the problem with that is that you can’t really change your family. However, you can coach, develop, and improve a team.
So what do you look for when hiring people to join your team? Well, according to the speakers at the Crisp Summit, a few things:
- They should be smart, hungry, and humble
- They should be willing to learn and want to continuously improve
- You should be ready to enthusiastically re-hire them at any point in time
- They should be achieving the results you hold them accountable for achieving
If you currently have people on your team who don’t meet the above criteria, well, some of the members of our Power Players Panel (7- to 8-figure law firm owners) believe in the adage “hire slow, fire fast.”
Our Legal Power Players Panel consisted of 7- to 8-figure law firm owners who shared insight into the strategies they’ve used to dominate their markets.
The best way to build a game changing team is to continue to provide opportunities for them to learn and grow. That means that as a leader, you should be helping them reach the next step in their career by providing training, growth opportunities, and mentorship.
3. It’s all about your mindset
Summit attendees heard from the one and only David Goggins on his rise to success from (very) humble beginnings. His persistence and hunger to reach a higher level of physical capability has set him apart from his peers, and he taught everyone in the room how to harness that same hunger, drive, and ambition and apply it to their law firms.
Don’t think running a 100-mile race has much to do with growing a law firm? Think again.
Being committed to a goal, whether the goal is holding the Guiness World Record for the most pushups done in 24 hours or increasing your average case values, is the only surefire way to guarantee you gain traction.
David encouraged Summit attendees to push through the pain, commit to never cut corners, and crush their goals despite the roadblocks and obstacles life is sure to throw at them. After all, those who are committed to their goals find a way, those not committed find an excuse.
4. At the end of the day, it all comes back to you
Time and time again, the speakers and panelists at the Crisp Game Changers Summit reinforced the true weight of responsibility that lies on the shoulders of law firm owners. Because the thing is, the buck always stops with you.
Crisp CEO Michael Mogill reminded attendees that true ownership requires you to take ownership of both your successes and your failures, even if you’re not the reason the failure happened in the first place. Judy Smith recommended that business owners find ways to control the narrative when marketing their brand so that you’re able to come out on top regardless of whatever crisis you might face. And David Goggins reminded us that most of our setbacks are only holding us back because we’re holding ourselves back.
But being at the top can often be lonely, especially if you don’t have a network of people who support your goals (and dare we say it, your crazy). That’s why you need likeminded people in your corner to support you in times of trouble and to keep you grounded in times of success.
The event was one for the books. But don’t just take my word for it, check out what some of the attendees had to say:
“The Crisp Game Changers Summit was truly a Game Changing experience and exceeded all my expectations.”
“I’ve been to hundreds of legal conferences and have never walked away with a feeling of being re-energized, feeling enriched, and my thoughts expanded like I did this past weekend.”
“The Crisp Game Changers Summit was a wonderful and inspirational learning experience. This program has rekindled my flame, and I can’t wait to get back home and put what I have learned to work. You all have a terrific team, and I will be back at the Game Changers Summit next year!”
“Your team set the bar so high for the Summit. The speakers, the environment, the team, the content… WOW!”
While the inaugural Crisp Game Changers Summit is in the books, you can join us for the 2019 Crisp Game Changers Summit by securing your tickets today at www.crispsummit.com.
To stay up to date on future Crisp events and announcements, follow along on social media! You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
