Episode 448 — AMMA — Confessions of a CEO: Yes, We Are All Just Winging It
Most firm owners are more uncertain than they let on. The ones performing at the highest level just have better frameworks to keep moving forward anyway.
In this episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael and Jessica Mogill field three listener questions that circle the same uncomfortable admission: most firm owners are less certain than they look, and the people watching them aren’t sure what to make of it. Michael gets into what it actually means to build a firm worth owning, how to read whether a firm is succeeding on skill or circumstance, and what it really takes to step out of someone else’s shadow and lead on your own terms.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- Why feeling like you’re winging it is not a sign something is wrong, and what success as a firm owner actually requires
- How to tell the difference between a firm owner making skilled decisions and one who has just been lucky
- Why the best leadership style is the one that produces results, regardless of what it looks like from the outside
These questions come up privately all the time. This episode is where they finally get answered.
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Show Notes:
Luck produces an outcome once. Skill produces it repeatedly. “To differentiate success from luck: can you predictably repeat that outcome? If you just did it once, then maybe it was luck. If you did it ten times, then I would say that was very much skill-based decision making.”
Great leaders don’t wait for complete information. They build a process for making good decisions without it. “You may have 70% of the information available to you, and you still have to make a decision. If you’re consistent in your decision making, you can make sound decisions when you consider the variables that you have available to you.”
A firm that depends entirely on its owner to function has a ceiling, and the owner is it. “If you are the crutch and everything is dependent upon you, then I would say that you’re not that good at this business thing yet.”
Being a good leader and being a popular one are two separate jobs, and only one of them keeps the firm alive. “Your job is not to make everybody happy. It is not to get everybody to like you. It is to ensure that the business can remain competitive.”
Second-generation leaders live in someone else’s shadow.. The only way out is results. “You’re going to be under your father’s shadow for a pretty long time, especially if you took over the firm that he founded. Different leadership styles can work. The best leadership style is the one that drives results.”
Connect with Michael
- Text directly at 404-531-7691
