Introducing The 5-Minute Insider
When I started Vineskills in late 2021, I never imagined we’d be here: a growing, employee-owned company, a team of 45 people, a culture I actually love.
I am not your prototypical Founder & CEO. I don’t seek the spotlight. I’d rather give my team the stage than occupy it myself. I’d prefer to be caught in the act of leading than rush to espouse my leadership philosophy on LinkedIn or X.
This is why I resonate with our Vineskills clients: I identify with that leader who has been heads-down for years building a service-based business, only to realize that they’re leaders of people, stewards of a culture, owners of a great business they can be proud of. I love getting to help them transform their law firm and stay on the cutting edge.
Whether it’s building Vineskills or working with our clients, I’m reminded every day how hard it is to build a great business. It takes effort and intention to be a leader. It takes time to hire the best people. It takes humility to set an example for your team. It takes serious thinking to set clear expectations. It takes courage to stand in a place of authority and invite people to follow you.
So I’m launching something new, and to be honest, it’s a little out of character, but it’s the type of content I wish I had over the years.
It’s a new newsletter called The 5-Minute Insider: a monthly newsletter for leaders of service-based firms who are grappling with the questions of how to grow their business, how to adopt the newest technology, how to manage their people, how to build a culture they’re proud of, and how to take care of themselves in the process.
Here is what you can expect:
Practical resources and examples of managing a team, growing your company, integrating technology, and other “soft-skills” related to building a business.
A personally-curated list of the best articles and resources related to leadership, management, tech, culture, and people.
A quote each month that made me think.
For leaders who are spread thin fighting the latest fire, my hope is for this newsletter to be a chance to zoom out and work on the business instead of remaining stuck in it.
I’d love to hear from you.
What topics should I explore?
What resources are most valuable for you as you build your firm?
Helpful Resources
Here are some of my favorite articles that I’ve read recently.
What happens when no one takes responsibility? I’m a big Seth Godin fan. In this post, he explores how setting boundaries and delineating roles inside an organization can slowly create a dynamic where no one takes responsibility. As organizations grow, it becomes easier and easier to say, “I’d love to fix this, but I’m not in charge of that.” The payroll company ADP, which is still using old, clunky software from decades ago, is a clear example: someone is in charge of the software, but they’re not acting like they are. Seth’s Blog (read time: 1 minute).
Will AI replace paralegals? The short answer is no. But it could make them dramatically better at their job. This article argues (and I agree) that AI is more of a partner to paralegals than a replacement. The best paralegals will leverage it to become that much better at their jobs. It’s time we see AI as a form of co-intelligence with us rather than a threat to replace us. I loved the five examples in this article of how paralegals are already using Filevine AI tools to level-up. Filevine Blog (read time: 7 minutes).
The connection between psychological ownership and employee ownership. You might not know that Vineskills is employee-owned. I believe it’s the secret to our success. This article outlines the connection between psychological ownership (the deep sense of ownership that individuals feel towards an organization) and employee ownership—a connection I have seen again and again in our own business. Employee Ownership Substack (read time: 2 minutes).
How to change what’s not working. One of my favorite business authors is Dan Heath. He’s written Made to Stick and Switch, and he’s out with a new book called Reset: How to Change What’s Not Working. The book aims to help leaders overcome the inertia of continuing to do things the way they have always been done. I’ve seen this a lot with our clients in the legal profession: an inertia to change which leads them to staying stuck and slowly becoming uncompetitive. Reset.
A quote that has me thinking
“Goals are for people who care about winning once. Systems are for people who care about winning repeatedly.”
Let’s connect
We built Vineskills to help law firms more fully leverage the power of Filevine. If your company is looking for Filevine optimization, support, training, or implementation, we’d love to help. You can book a free help call here or just shoot me an email at troy@vineskills.com. I’d personally love to hear from you.
P.S. If you'd prefer to get this newsletter in your email inbox, you can subscribe here: https://mailchi.mp/vineskills.com/the-5-minute-insider
