Ep. 7 - Who Not How: The Art of Removing Roadblocks

Successful Barrister

Firm owners often find themselves juggling many tasks at the same time and struggling to get everything done. If you find yourself wondering how you can get all of your work done, you may be asking the wrong question. Learn how to delegate tasks with Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals by Accelerating Teamwork by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy. Delegation can take many forms, including the hiring of both fractional and full time employees. Discover how your network can help you find your “who” – and also help you learn who to avoid.

For detailed show notes, navigate the episode using the timestamps below:

[1:36] As the owner of a firm, you will have many tasks to complete. How do you get it all done? This episode is about Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals by Accelerating Teamwork by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy, which tells professionals to avoid getting stuck on the “how” and focus on the “who.” Learning to delegate tasks is crucial to your success.

[4:11] Marc attempted to build his own website before WordPress existed by learning to code as a full time practicing lawyer. After two weeks of attempting to teach himself to code, he realized he should hire someone else to do it. This is a great example of Who Not How.

[8:28] Who Not How is partially about a mindset shift to not needing to be in control of everything. Another concept from the book is humility – while delegating takes confidence, you also need the humility to understand that you do not know everything, and there might be someone else who could complete tasks for you more effectively.

[11:56] Diana and Marc discuss the term “fractional”, which refers to hiring a staff member on a part time basis. Marc Whitehead & Associates brought in a fractional CFO with experience in the industry to help the firm grow.

[14:58] There are lots of experts that firms can bring in on a fractional basis. A fractional CMO might help balance costs using industry-standard benchmarks. The fractional concept is also easy-in, easy-out: fractional relationships are easy to begin and easy to get out of.

[17:52] Marc considered hiring a fractional COO before hiring Diana, but realized that it was a full time job. The operations work was going to members of the team who did not have the time or experience to deal with it, and there was no process for decision making. Choosing to hire a COO was a key example of Who Not How at Marc Whitehead & Associates.

[24:09] The fractional team members Marc has hired have largely been referrals from people already working with them. This is another example of using your network to solve your problems.

[27:15] Your network can also help you vet candidates and find out who not to work with. This can help your firm minimize risk in new hires.

[28:47] Who Not How is written by Benjamin Hardy through his interviews with Dan Sullivan. Despite being listed as a co-author, Dan Sullivan did not write the book – Hardy is the “who” in the relationship.

[31:28] A project-pitch is a one-page tool that Atticus came up with. The pitch helps explain to teams why your project will benefit them.

[34:19] When using Who Not How, it is important to consider the workload of the “who” you are choosing. For example, if Diana is assigned too many tasks, some of them will have to be prioritized over others.

Listen to Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals by Accelerating Teamwork by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Who-Not-How-Audiobook/1401960774

Buy Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals by Accelerating Teamwork on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Who-Not-How-Accelerating-Teamwork-ebook/dp/B0867ZJ151

Visit The Successful Barrister Website: https://successfulbarrister.com

Visit the Marc Whitehead & Associates Website: https://disabilitydenials.com/