As I've already observed in an earlier blog in this series, it's the best driver in the best car who normally has the best chance of winning a Formula 1 race.
As I've already observed in an earlier blog in this series, it's the best driver in the best car who normally has the best chance of winning a Formula 1 race.
But it's worth reflecting for a moment on just what goes into creating that winning machine, and what else goes into positioning the driver for success — beyond his own skills and abilities.
At our Visualfiles Share 2019 event, we were privileged to have a keynote presentation from Marc Priestley, who spent 10 years at McLaren F1. A key member of the pit and race crew, Marc worked with the best in the business on and off the track, including multiple world champions. Marc provided us with some fascinating insights into the extraordinary teamwork that goes into creating a world champion.
It starts with roughly 800 people at the factory where the team's cars are designed and manufactured. On race day, another 70 or so people monitor data streams from the cars, helping to make crucial decisions such as which engine setting to use, and which wheels and tyres to put on. And of course, there's the implementation team — the 20-strong pit stop crew who change those wheels and tyres approximately six times during every race.
Marc had the good fortune to be at McLaren when Lewis Hamilton joined as a rookie. Acknowledging the unmistakable talent he already displayed back then, Marc says: "He was already quick in the car, and just two years later he was world champion. But it wasn't down to Lewis alone. It was also the people behind the scenes giving him the opportunity to succeed."
The right support network
I agree with Marc: it's often the people in the background who make the crucial difference between winning and coming second. It’s not down to good fortune or the drivers alone that McLaren F1 has produced 12 world champions and won eight constructors' titles.
For the lawyers in your firm to be the best they can, they need the same type of supportive and focused team around them as Lewis Hamilton found at McLaren — developing and deploying the right strategies, plans and processes to create an environment for success.
If your firm uses a case management system, you'll want to know it's designed by a team that's as capable as the McLaren factory — and as dedicated to continually optimising it with features and functionality that help you pull away from the competition.
You'll also want to feel confident you're working with a provider that understands the business of law. It's a big help if the provider's account managers, client advisers and other support staff have real-world experience of your industry and the challenges you face. That way, they'll be more skilled at bridging between the world of law and the world of IT, and ensuring that developments to the case management system will keep driving your business success.
Does your case management system make you feel like you're in a top-performing F1 car supported by experts? If not, perhaps it's time to switch teams.