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Every Entrepreneur needs to take a cold hard look at legal strategies at some point. Avoiding this leaves you vulnerable and exposed. Tackling this subject
The law is a big subject and can often feel daunting or intimidating. Years ago I certainly felt that it was. Since then I’ve worked through numerous realms of business law both on offense and on defense that have taught me priceless (and let’s be real, a few expensive) lessons.
Disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer and I don’t offer legal advice. What I offer is a broad business perspective on legal strategies to help get you started in the right direction.
While this article gives a broad look at the law in business and entrepreneurship, I will be posting a number of other more focused content pieces here.
I want to turn your legal stresses into strong success stories.
If we weren’t human, if we weren’t a bunch of people trying to figure out life as we go, we probably wouldn’t require as much conflict resolution. The reality is that on a planet with this many people, we’re bound to have conflicts and generally, most people try to resolve them peacefully and smoothly.
“In business, there are three sides to every argument; there’s your side, my side and then there’s somewhere in the middle.”
6 lessons I learned along the way
Lesson 1: Pick your battles wisely
Not every battle is worth fighting.
I had an employee who wasn’t with me very long. I thought I had hired the right person, after a few months it became clear that I hadn’t. I had to fire them and they were right pissed off about it. From a place of frustration and likely from some embarrassment as well, that ex-employee lashed out and tried to squeeze extra money out of me which was not owed to them. Being the cunning person they are, they threatened to go to the labour board, tell all my key team members and post negative reviews on every online platform they could find if I didn’t pony up the dough immediately.
This very quickly became a stressful situation. First, a hire I made turned out bad so I wasted money on recruitment and training. Then the work they did was shit, and all had to be re-done. Now, on top of all that I’m faced with either an unjustly damaged reputation or losing more money.
You can probably imagine my impulse reaction was to tell that person right where to go and shut off all communications with them. But that would be an emotional reaction, which usually doesn’t benefit anyone.
Every decision needs to be looked at objectively, so I considered; how much was that person asking for? Is it a better ROI to fight them on it and patch up my reputation after, or is it wiser to just pay them out regardless of them being wrong?
The fact is that if we’re going to stand firm on every battle for the sake of being right or making a point, then we’ll be dedicating resources into a money pit.
“Choose your legal battles wisely. Sometimes it’s better to lose a battle so that you can win the war.“
Even if you genuinely believe you’re right, sometimes it’s wiser to just give the baby their bottle. If someone’s going to whine and cause a big ruckus over a small amount of money (relatively speaking), is it really worth fighting over? Or, are you going to get a better return, mentally, emotionally, and financially, for your team and your company by signing a check, and with it signing a document that says they won’t be coming back for more?
Key lesson #1:
I brought my key team members into a short boardroom meeting and explained the situation. I informed them that I chose to sign over the cheque, not because it was owed, but because it would make everyone’s life easier if I did. No-one would be receiving disgruntled phone calls, no negative reviews would be posted, no more time would be wasted and we could all just move on to more profitable discussions again. My team appreciated the care I demonstrated towards the situation and they respected that I put them first in the thought process instead of being emotional.
Check your ego. Do the right thing for your team.
Lesson 2: Treat lawyers like respected employees
But wait, lawyers are evil and dangerous! Plus, they’re intimidating!
Get over it.
I had a fine come in from the city. They felt I wasn’t adhering to safety policies while I believed I was. No-one was injured and the only evidence presented
I genuinely thought I was doing the right thing, playing by the rulebook and the generally accepted requirements of the bylaw. I woke up one morning, and received the fine to realise they felt differently. I didn’t think I should have to pay the fine, obviously, so I hired an expensive lawyer from a good firm to deal with it for me.
Simple, right?
Wrong!!
When you take on a new team member, do you lead them?
Do you give them guidance, hold them accountable, and give them direction?
Do you answer their questions, and check in to see how they’re doing?
Of course! If you’re a good leader, you’re doing all of those things.
“Your lawyer is simply another part of your team, so treat them as such.“
In my scenario, I hired an expensive lawyer to defend me and they ended up wetting the bed. At the end of the day, I paid their huge fee and still ended up paying the entire fine. They did nothing for me except take my money.
In hindsight, I was so intimidated by the whole process that I stood on the sidelines and let them do their thing. And they failed. Today, with much more experience under my belt, I think that’s crazy and so should you!
Key lesson #2:
Don’t think that a lawyer requires less of the above mentioned leadership just because they’re expensive. Don’t get intimidated by that shit! Do your job, be a good leader and help every member of your team, including your lawyers. Their success depends on your leadership and guidance.
Now I help my legal team be as successful as anyone else in my organisation and the results have been well worth it.
Lesson 3: check your ego
I had a client disputing a minor detail on a contract we were working on, it wasn’t a big deal looking at the bigger picture. Emotionally, to that person, it meant the world. They were freaking out and we had a long email chain with 3-4 page-long replies back and forth for over a week.
This client was a lawyer. Although this was supposed to be a simple contract they were flexing their legal muscles in a non-legal setting either for fun and sport, or because they had trouble communicating in a non-courtroom, friendly situation.
Sometimes, we can get lost in the muddle of our own world and this was the case for him. He was throwing the book at me, threatening to destroy me and my business.
My Mistake:
At first, I got really defensive. For a few days it went on like this, escalating until I had a bit of an epiphany. I was sitting at home thinking about this situation, totally stressed out. It was occupying so much of my brain, so much of my time in and outside of work. It was too much.
I suggested we end the email chain completely and instead meet in person, where we could hash out a good, happy solution. One where we would both feel respected.
I tell you, when you’re looking someone in the eye and you’re finally face-to-face it’s a very different experience compared to when you’re hiding, feeling tough behind a computer screen.
Key lesson #3:
Meeting face-to-face disarmed the situation entirely. I had to keep my ego in check though. While he went on a mad rant, I kept my voice down, let him speak his mind and get all that emotion out. I became a safe place for him to vent whatever frustrations were going on in his life because clearly there was something unrelated to our issue that he was going through. I was some sort of easy target it seems.
When he was done I asked, “How do we fix this for you? How do we find a reasonable resolution that we will both be happy with?”
The solution we came to was the equivalent of roughly 1% of all the threats he had given to me in the past. It turned into a relatively small dollar amount that I was quite happy to just give to him so we could both move on. Neither of us felt shafted, we walked away happy to have it over with and went our separate ways. We even shook hands and genuinely wished each other well afterwards.
He seemed to appreciate that I took the time and effort to listen to his complaints and that I genuinely cared about helping him feel better about his experience with me. Big learning experience!
Lesson 4: The green vs. red mindset
I suggest you look at every business situation from one of two perspectives with different mindsets. Green or red.
Green is a mindset that’s solution-oriented, seeking a favourable outcome.
Ask the client how to make them feel better, or brainstorm with your team how to make a problem go away with the least amount of effort.
QUESTION: How do we walk away from this with a win-win situation?
A green mindset is productive and proactive.
Red is a mindset which is NOT solution-oriented, and can lead to a stressful environment for you, your team or client. It’s going to end up costing you more money, and will never be a good return on investment.
This mindset asks no questions, and is more focused on who’s right and who’s wrong. It’s a defensive stance, and thinking more about revenge or seeking only to defeat and deflate the ‘opposition’.
A red mindset is looking to the past, and it keeps you from moving forward.
Red is a destructive mindset when your goal is a successful business, and you’re only trying to earn a good name and reputation.
I remember once in the office with my team, there was something in the air, negativity was circling and increasing. I kept on hearing my team blame others for problems. The market, a bad client, someone on the team who messed something up. It was grating on my nerves. I had meeting after meeting trying to resolve this and that crisis with people pointing fingers.
It was a shit show.
Key lesson #4:
I got so fed up with it that I just put the business on pause and brought the whole executive team into the board room. I explained about the GREEN and RED business mindsets, put it up on the board, and passed out a printed version as well.
I made our situation very clear, if they wanted to work together as a good, collaborative team with a green perspective, they could stick around! Otherwise, leave *I pointed towards the boardroom door* and don’t waste my time. I explained I’d happily sign a termination notice, letter of positive reference and a decent severance package for anyone wanting to quit right then and there. But I also left no choice. Choose a green mindset from now on, or you’re fired.
Let’s talk more about how you can make this mindset your team’s go-to. Book a complimentary call here.
Lesson 5: Contracts are not always final
Some people believe that if they’ve got a good contract, they’re ‘covered’.
Although a good contract does help protect you, your employees or your client, it is not a guarantee, by any means.
Simple Example:
Let’s say I sign a contract with you, I agree to pay you $100, you agree to provide me the service of delivering an office chair. But in the contract I slip in a little one-liner saying that if you don’t stand on your head, and walk on your hands while carrying the chair on your feet, then the chair must be free.
Note: This example is intentionally ridiculous.
Let’s say you deliver the chair, I have it now and I refuse to pay you because you didn’t stand on your head. Then we go to court over it.
Don’t feel intimidated if someone tries to screw you because of a stupid claus. Judges will make a decision based on common sense and the law. It’s not just willy nilly and abstract concepts in a ‘gotcha clause’.
The flip side is also true. Even if you think you have a fair, ethical, iron-clad contract, there’s always room for a different ‘interpretation’ or perspective. The judge has to look at ALL the facts, not just the facts you like, BEFORE making a final, binding decision.
Question: What is the goal here?
Answer: To do business and for all parties to be happy with the results, outcome or deliverable.
“Business is about trading value for value so everyone benefits.”
That’s what we’re trying to do and a good legal strategy will help you do that and get there. It will help keep you on track and out of court.
We want to make sure you build the right legal strategies both in the defensive and offensive positions. Book a call with me, let’s talk about this.
Lesson 6: stay out of court!
Find a peaceful, mutually acceptable resolution to all your conflicts whenever possible.
The single most important legal strategy I can share with you is to RESOLVE CONFLICTS PEACEFULLY BEFORE THEY ENTER THE COURT SYSTEM.
Preventing a legal situation is so much less expensive than resolving one after it’s escalated.
Key lesson #6:
Do an excellent job at whatever it is you’re doing. Offer a great service, great value, on time and offer great resolutions to any conflicts which arise.
If you have something looming over your head, that dark cloud following you around like Charlie Brown, remember that other people have walked where you have and made it through. You can too, it’s going to be okay.
If you want to talk about something specific you’re facing, book a call and let’s take a broad look at what’s going on.
Ultimately, we want all other businesses to do a little bit better. You got into business because you love it, I got into business because I love it. Let’s do it together and get you to the next level. Book a call, it’s complimentary!
