Author Ken Krogue shares a story in Forbes about a new employee who when visiting his new employer’s office for the first time, sees an orange extension cord in the middle of the floor. When asked about it, the receptionist says “what extension cord?” and when it is pointed out, the receptionist says “oh that – it’s been there for awhile.”

As time passes, the new employee learns the extension cord was being used to power an appliance so a circuit breaker would not trip, and was surprised to note that everyone he met seemed surprised when he asked about the orange extension cord – the common response was “what extension cord?” followed by a comment “oh, that – it’s always been there.”

More time passes and the next thing you know, the employee is no longer new and he, too, no longer notices the orange extension cord.

Hiding In Plain Sight . . .

Look around: try to look objectively and see what others see when they visit your office; what does the interior look like? How about the exterior? How are visitors greeted when they visit? What do people see when they view your online presence? Is it possible you’ve been ignoring the “orange extension cord,” simply because you’ve gotten used to it?

Most everyone knows how easy it is to be unable to find something that is actually, in plain sight – a pen, car keys, case files, you name it – it’s been “misplaced” only to be found after a frantic search; success brings a sigh of relief and usually, the exclamation that “if it was a snake, it would have bitten me.”

The same inability to see applies to all of the components that make up your office.

You’re busy – your attention is directed to your client’s legal issues and it’s easy to miss or ignore things others might notice that might reflect negatively upon you.

And think about this . . . your failure to look and/or act upon these items hurting your practice might be defined as negligence. No, not negligence in an actionable sense, but since this is a discussion for lawyers, let’s use terms everyone is familiar with: contributory negligence in the sense that you are causing harm to your practice by allowing the “orange extension cords” to continue to exist.Remember, under the law, you have a duty to see what should be seen.

So now is the time to look, observe and act – find the “orange extension cords” that you’ve been missing and improve your appearance to those who may be looking for your services.

And if you don’t have the time to look, or maybe you don’t know all of the things you should be looking for, you can ask us to help – to give you a new perspective on how others view your practice.

It’s Easy to Get Started – We Can Help You Find the “Orange Extension Cords” That May Be Hurting Your Practice

Contact Of Counsel | Legal Marketing and let us help you find the marketing problems that may be hiding in plain sight.