What Makes an IT Strategy 'Strategic' 1

Part 1: The Problem

There is a view that a ‘strategy’ is just a “plan with a college education” – to paraphrase Mark Twain. Nothing could be further from the truth; a plan does not a strategy make (no matter how complex), neither does a budget, or a shopping list – or even a combination of all the above.

Many law firm IT ‘strategies’ fail in the sense that that they are not strategic. 

The are not strategic for two main reasons:

• primarily, in that they do not sufficiently take into account the firm’s business objectives
• secondly, that they therefore fall back on being a list of actions that usually fall into three categories: things we need to fix, things we need to upgrade and maintain, and new technologies we really should be able to show that we are doing something with.

What is needed is a methodical, proven and tailored process for ensuring that an IT Strategy does what it is supposed to, which includes – at an early stage - being closely driven by, and aligned with, the firm’s stated and prioritized business objectives.

An IT strategy also identifies who, has to do what, by when in order to make it all happen. In the end a plan and a budget emerge, but they are the tail – not the dog.

Over the last 35 years we have plagiarized and adapted from the best strategic planning methodologies available and have successfully used it at over 40 law firms of all sizes.

This series of articles will set out – in five clear stages – what this process is, and how it works.

In Part 2 in this series will set out the overall process and explain how the key first stage draws in the information required from the firm’s business objectives to make sure that the strategic plan remains business led.

Jump to Part 2