Five Essential Roles For A Successful Practice – Part Two

In our previous post (Five Essential Roles For A Successful Practice – Part One), we identified the five key roles that must be filled for your business to be successful: the entrepreneur, the visionary, the transformer, the performer and the leader.  We distinguished the differentiating factors between the entrepreneur and the visionary and clarified how they can be the same person, but need not be.  Today we will focus on the role of the transformer.  The transformer is the most essential role in creating a business that operates without you.

So what is a transformer?  As a successful Level Two entrepreneur, I can confidently say, it was not until I understood the role of the transformer that I was able to actually separate myself from the businesses I had created.  Even if you do not intend to achieve Level Two status, to succeed as a Level One entrepreneur, you will need a transformer.  The only distinction is the level of authority you ultimately give them.  For those who intend to create value beyond their individual capabilities, coming to know and identify transformers to whom you are willing to give authority is essential to reaching Level Two. 

The definition of a transformer is one who, with their own skills, knowledge and resources available, transforms an idea (vision) that benefits the world into a product or service that is deliverable.  So what are the essential elements of this role?  The first and most important is that transformers need no one else to perform the role.  As a distinction, they do need others to get the job done, but transformers, with their own skills, knowledge and resources, are able to take a vision or idea and make it real.  A transformer utilizes available resources, which can include other individuals, the Internet or any other source of information the transformer identifies as necessary to turn the vision into a reality. 

The other key distinction of transformers is this: What they create is deliverable, even though they typically are not responsible for delivering it.  To illustrate, many people have a vision or a “great idea.”  The world is full of people with great ideas.  The challenge is that there are skills required to take an idea and make it something that another individual is actually able to benefit from.  The art of being able to take that vision and turn it into a deliverable product or service is what transformers do!  Interestingly, transformers are not typically visionaries or entrepreneurs, and they do not need to identify that the idea is valuable in the marketplace.  They are just building the deliverable identified by the entrepreneur and guided by the vision of the visionary. Transformers make ideas real.

So how would you recognize a transformer in your organization?  In my experience, it’s simple.  If there is a challenge in your office and you need to “get it done,” whom do you go to?   Transformers are the ones who, when you go to them with your idea, you are able to step away and later find the idea implemented and delivered with minimal input.  Transformers can also apply their talent to various elements of the business with ease.   The level of transformer will dictate the reach of your ultimate success.  The essential need for transformers is resources; the more resources they have access to, the greater the impact.  Lawyers with Purpose has tremendous resources for the transformers in your law firm to help create products and services that can be delivered to clients easily and with tremendous value. In our next post we will discuss our final two roles, that of the performers and leaders.  

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David J. Zumpano, Esq, CPA, Co-founder Lawyers With Purpose, Founder and Senior Partner of Estate Planning Law Center