163: Visualizing Workflows using Kanban Boards (with John Grant)

Making your work visible is vital for knowledge workers (like lawyers), and the best way of doing that is by using a Kanban Board. Task managers just can't cut it.

In this episode, Ernie talks with John Grant a consultant who helps fellow lawyers fix their legal workflows using Kanban Boards to help them manage tasks more effectively and collaborate better.

Show Notes

• Agile Attorney (John Grant's website)
• The Voice of The Client (John's podcast where he interviews lawyer clients)
• Thinking Fast & Slow, Daniel Kahneman
• Making Work Visible: Exposing Time Theft to Optimize Work & Flow, by Dominica DeGrandis (John's book recommendation)
• The Rise & Fall of GTD (Cal Newport's article in the New Yorker)
• Lean Software Development (Wikipedia article)
• Agile Software Development (Wikipedia article)
• Scrum Software Development (Wikipedia article)
• Knowledge Workers (Wikipedia definition)
• How to Think Better And Profit More (Ernie's blog post)
• Feedback loops (Wikipedia definition)
• Kanban (Wikipedia definition)
• Trello (Kanban board tool used by Ernie, which he recommends)
• KanbanZone (Kanban board tool that John recommends)
• WIP: a task started by not yet finished (Wikipedia definition)
• Start less to finish more (a key principle of the Agile work method)
• Optimism Bias (Wikipedia definition)
• Why All Your Projects Are Late And What to Do About It (Freakonomics podcast)
• Less Doing: Ari Meisel's website (productivity guru that Ernie follows and recommends)
• "Honest reckoning with capacity" (John's advice for not succumbing to optimism bias)
• "Brutal assessment of priority" (John's related advice)

General Resources

• The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter)
• The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice
• The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners)

Thanks to Our Sponsors

SweetProcess is a great way to document your important workflows. Doing so will help make your practice run more smoothly, and require less involvement on your part to keep things running smoothly.

The best way to understand how SweetProcess will help streamline your firm is to start using it. The company offers a 14-day free trial, but as a loyal listener of this podcast, you can try it for 28-days free of charge. And you don’t even have to enter a credit card to get started.

Just navigate to SweetProcess.com/ernie to start your 28-day free trial today.

And thanks to the other sponsor of this podcast…

Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you’re actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish.

If there’s one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of.

Plans start at just $140 a month for calls or chats. And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a free trial now (and learn more) at www.smith.ai. 

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at EmeraldCity Pro.