"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future...Believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference."
Steve Jobs said this in his commencement address at Stanford University. The story behind it took place during his youth. Jobs had just dropped out of college because he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. But, he was still attending classes ("dropping in") that he was interested in. One day, he dropped in to a calligraphy class out of curiosity and learned a lot about fonts and typeface. Years later, when developing the first Mac computer, Jobs remembered this course and had the idea to add multiple font options to the word processor. Today, all computers have a choice of font, and this might not be the case had Jobs not gone to that class. Jobs didn't go to the calligraphy class because he knew that one day he would develop the Mac and would want to incorporate font options into the word processor. He simply went to a class he was interested in, and it came in handy later in life. The dots only connected in retrospect.
I've been thinking a lot about this story lately, as Total Attorneys celebrated its eighth anniversary this month. I didn't know a lot about the future when I began Infra-Strategy (Total Attorneys' former name) in my apartment back in May of 2002. The business began as an web development and IT services company on the tail end of the dot com bust. I didn't know that we would evolve into offering technology-enabled managed services for small law firms. But in retrospect, everything that has happened in the last eight years makes sense and had to happen to get us where we are today.
Miko's Italian Ice, the shop below the apartment that I started Infra-Strategy in.
While my background before starting Infra-Strategy was focused on web development and e-commerce, I decided that I wanted to offer IT services as well when I started the company. While looking for potential IT services clients, I discovered Google AdWords as a way to augment my cold calling efforts. Google AdWords ended up being a big missing piece to the business plan. If Infra-Strategy hadn't offered IT services in addition to web development, I wouldn't have learned the power of Google AdWords so early. While IT services are no longer a part of Total Attorneys, its contribution is still felt today, as leveraging online marketing continues to be a key part of our strategy.
The first Infra "office" at 8 South Michigan in 2002.
While looking for potential clients in 2002 I cold-called Kevin Chern to explain our web development and marketing services to him. We worked great together. Three years later in 2005, Kevin ended up becoming my partner and joining Infra-Strategy as President. This wasn't part of a long term plan in 2002 and wouldn't have happened if I hadn't become an effective cold caller. At the time, I couldn't have possibly connected the dots between the minute before I made that call and today. In retrospect, that first sales call was incredibly important for our company.
I think part of what the Total Attorneys story gets at is that you should treat everything as a learning experience or an opportunity. Total Attorneys' success over the last eight years can be credited to the people who have helped build it. Each one has has their calligraphy classes that got them to this point, and they continue to add dots to the Total Attorneys story that we will be connecting in the years ahead.
While today's 50 degree temperatures and rainy skies make it hard to believe, the summer season is almost here and it kicks off some of my favorite Total Attorneys company events. A few weeks ago we had an amazing fundraiser for the Total Impact House. People enjoyed each others' company after work, all the while raising about $4000 for a great cause.
This month we'll be participating in the Chase Corporate Challenge, a 3.5 mile run for companies located in the Chicago Loop. We had about 40 runners last year and many more who came out to cheer their co-workers on and hang out. This event is also cool because it gives us a chance to interact with other Chicago businesses and show them how we like to have fun! Below is the never-before-seen, unique design for our team t-shirt this year, designed by one of our employees.
Company outings can either be planned in great detail or be as simple and spontaneous as grabbing people to head out to the park for a picnic. Later in the summer we have our annual softball tournament to look forward to. The whole company is invited to enjoy softball, food, and friends in Grant Park.
Promoting socialization among employees also has work-related benefits, too. People get to know each other better, so they work together better. They are also more energized because events such as the ones described here provide them with an outlet to relax. Productivity increases as the result of having fun. Caring about the holistic development of employees will yield results in productivity for your organization. Having an annual golf outing helps our employees take a day to not worry about work and just enjoy each others' friendship.
If you work at TA, what is your favorite company event? If you work somewhere else, what kinds of events does your company have, and what is your favorite?
The Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel for the Supreme Court of Missouri advised last week that it would not be pursuing action based on the complaint filed against sponsors of the Total Attorneys High Performance Marketing program in that state. The brief letter indicated that the office had considered the available evidence and reviewed the applicable rules and had not found probable cause to believe that the Missouri attorneys had violated the Rules of Professional Conduct.
Of the 47 states that received complaints approximately one year ago, 24 took no action and Missouri is the 14th to close its investigation with no finding of wrongdoing. To date, no state has made a finding of misconduct against Total Attorneys or its sponsoring lawyers in connection with these complaints, and only 9 states still have investigations pending.
The Connecticut State’s Attorney’s Office, advised of the pending investigations by Connecticut Disciplinary Counsel, also indicated by letter that no criminal charges would be filed. Earlier this year, a Connecticut panel dismissed ethical grievances against attorneys in that state who advertised with Total Attorneys.
We’re very pleased that, despite the ongoing efforts of a single individual, Disciplinary Commissions across the country are making a fair and reasonable assessment of the issues and laying the groundwork for clearer rules to guide attorneys advertising online and through other new media.
I've lived in Chicago my entire life. People from Chicago have a great deal of civic pride, and I'm no exception!
Aside from being the host of the ABA Tech Show, Chicago is a great city for culture, sightseeing, and nightlife! We are home to lots of museums, a great skyline, and rich cultural events.
Want to fit a little of what Chicago has to offer into your time here?
Admission to the Art Institute of Chicago is free every Thursday evening from 5-9. If you are a fan of Impressionist paintings, then it is a must visit. The Modern Wing, which opened just last year is an architectural marvel and houses the work of famous artists such as Picasso, as well as more contemporary living artists.
Is your family traveling to Chicago with you for the Tech Show? The Adler Planetarium has great astronomy exhibits for kids, including a new one opening tomorrow called "Planet Explorers." The Shedd Aqurium is also right next door to the Adler and is always a family pleaser.
Chicago is getting warmer but the weather isn't that nice yet. A great indoor alternative is to take advantage of the city's theater scene. Shows currently playing include Billy Elliot and Beauty and the Beast. You can check out all the shows currently playing here.
Interested in sophisticated cocktails and a magnificent view of the city? Check out this great deal for Rebar at the Trump Tower: $25 for $50 worth of food and beverage. The best part is that 10% will go to the charity of your choice. Excellent venue and an excellent cause!
Want to see a great local Chicago band play in one of my favorite Chicago bars? Check out Spare Parts at AliveOne on Thursday.
You can also click here to visit the city's official attractions page.
Be sure to stop by Booth 603 and let us know where your adventures have taken you in our fine city.
Today was a very difficult day for us. We laid off about 50 of our good friends and co-workers as part of a re-organization around our product offerings.
Many companies making the jump from start-up to enterprise have experienced the same pain. History has shown that it is nearly impossible to manage growth perfectly during this transition and we are no exception. The people leaving us today have made tremendous contributions to our products and services, our discourse and our culture and we will be sad to see them go.
This has been my most difficult decision in 8 years as Founder and CEO. I explored every alternative and poured over spreadsheets until my eyes blurred. I've come to the conclusion that this is our best path for continuing to be an effective and efficient enterprise that drives the greatest value to our customers and employees.
We wish a speedy transition to successful new careers for all of our former Totalites.
Total Attorneys employees had some interesting thoughts on what 2010 would bring for the company. Check out the video to see some of these crazy predisctions!
On May 21st, 2009, over 30 Total Attorneys runners laced up their running shoes and raced to the finish line to promote fundraising for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Overall, more than 60 employees attended the event and showed their support. With drinks, games, and catering by Sweet Baby Rays, the Total Attorneys tent was the envy of the Grant Park crowd.
Over 17,000 runners and 500 companies participated in the 5k race through Grant Park in the heart of Chicago, IL. See our recap video below:
Have you ever had a story to tell that was so big, that you couldn’t decide on where to begin? Well over the last few weeks we have made numerous improvements to the Total Attorneys case management system. Our goal was to remove the extra content and information that was bogging down the user experience and making it difficult to navigate to critical information. We have indicated a few of the changes below, please send us your feedback at: support@totalattorneys.com
Bankruptcy Case Support has evolved considerably during its first year. As we’ve learned from experience and from our clients, we’ve tweaked our processes to improve service and flexibility. What we’ve learned during that process is being carried forward as we develop new products and services. For example, when we started bankruptcy case support, it was a full-service program only. While many of our clients appreciated the start-to-finish service, some of you told us that you wanted to choose your own credit counseling providers or had a special need for a certain piece of the process. So, we unbundled our offerings to allow our customers to choose the services that best helped their practices.
One of the benefits of offering various services to similarly-situated customers is that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Having learned that small firm attorneys and solo practitioners using our Bankruptcy Case Support services wanted the flexibility to purchase only the services important to them, we carried that knowledge forward as we developed our Virtual Receptionist program. Virtual Receptionist clients determine whether they want straight answering-service-style services or would like to add call screening and routing, hot transfers and appointment setting. And, they have the ability to turn those services on and off with just a quick email or telephone call.
The same transparency that allows us to learn as we go and develop our services in tandem with our clients is built right into our products, so that our attorney and law firm clients can monitor our work in real time. For instance, Bankruptcy Case Support clients will soon be able to log in to their accounts and check the progress at any time and be assured of up-to-the-minute information. Our goal was to make it as easy for an attorney to fulfill his ethical obligation to supervise our paralegals as it would be paralegals in his own office, but it turns out that we’ve gone one better: clients tell us that it’s actually easier to monitor our cases, since there’s one convenient place to log in and track all pending case files at once rather than having to pull multiple files.
Keep the feedback coming! We’re looking forward to taking the next steps with you.
On a sunny and beautiful Saturday, September 19th, Total Attorneys employees set out to compete in the annual golf tournament. Hosted by Marovitz Golf Course in Downtown Chicago, IL, 40 golfers competed in teams of 4 using the “4-ball scramble” style tournament rules. The event also featured catered food, drinks, and a bags game. Congratulations to Andrew, Larry, Jay, and Karl for being this year’s Total Golf Champions! Check out the video below to catch the action!
