Tactical Tuesday: Rainy Days and Resets

Because even the best plans need a little stormy weather

Here in the Upstate of South Carolina, we’re finally getting a break from the summer heat. A cold front has rolled in with days of steady rain—offering some much-needed relief and, unexpectedly, a reason to slow down.

There’s something about a rainy day that gives us permission to pause. Plans get postponed, meetings move online, and for a moment—just a moment—we get space to breathe. But instead of just waiting for the skies to clear, what if we used that pause with purpose?

Rainy days are perfect reset days. And for law firms and legal professionals, a reset doesn’t just mean catching up on admin. It’s an ideal time to review, revise, and revitalize your strategic plan.

Your strategic plan doesn’t have to be complicated or formal. Forget the idea that it needs to be a glossy document buried in a desk drawer. A solid plan simply outlines your goals, the actions needed to achieve them, and how you’ll track progress along the way. What matters is that it’s used—and revisited—regularly. If you’re not reviewing your goals often, chances are you’re not executing in ways that truly support them. And that’s where firms start to drift off course without even realizing it.

Rainy-day pauses offer a chance to make sure your strategy still fits the current reality. Take twenty minutes with your team—or just yourself—and ask a few focused questions:
• Are we making progress on our top goals?
• Has anything shifted that should impact our direction?
• Are our day-to-day efforts aligned with what we say matters most?
• What small adjustments can we make this week to regain momentum?

This check-in doesn’t have to be formal. It just needs to be intentional. The goal isn’t to rewrite the entire plan but to reconnect with it and make sure it’s still working for you—not collecting dust.

One of the most common issues I see in firms is the "set it and forget it" approach to strategy. But the most effective firms treat their strategic plans as living documents. They adjust, refine, and course-correct often. And that responsiveness is what drives long-term results.

So, the next time the skies open up and force a slow-down, take it as a cue to recalibrate—not just your schedule, but your firm’s direction. You might be surprised by the clarity that comes when you're not racing to the next thing.

And if this rainy-day reset has you thinking more seriously about where your firm is headed, know that you don’t have to sort it all out alone. Sometimes a fresh perspective is all it takes to move forward with greater confidence and clarity. Let’s talk.