432. AMMA — When Loyalty Backfires: The Hidden Cost of Tenure

The Game Changing Attorney Podcast with Michael Mogill

Michael Mogill

Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Business, Management

5.0 • 539 Ratings

🗓️ 29 January 2026

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Longevity doesn't equal excellence, but somewhere along the way, we started treating it like it does. In this episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael and Jessica Mogill tackle one of the most uncomfortable truths in leadership: tenure is not a metric for promotion. From attorneys demanding partnership based on years served to team members resenting promotions they believe they "deserved," this conversation exposes the friction that happens when loyalty is mistaken for performance. Michael also shares how he's training his daughter to see skills as learnable, not innate, and why the same growth mindset applies to building teams that reward excellence over seniority. Here's what you'll learn: Why rewarding tenure over performance quietly destroys your standards and demoralizes top performers How to define partnership expectations before resentment builds and misalignment festers What to do when you've been delaying a termination decision, and why waiting only makes it worse Time served is not the same as value delivered. This episode is your reminder to lead with clarity, not comfort. ---- 01:57 – Michael introduces his new daily training sessions with his seven-year-old daughter and explains why focus is a trainable skill that nobody teaches. 06:47 – How the triathlon training principle applies to business: success has less to do with natural ability and more to do with time dedicated to practice. 09:26 – An attorney with six years of tenure demands partnership and equity, claiming the firm owner is "moving the goalposts." 14:26 – Why tenure doesn't trump performance, and how to explain promotions based on meritocracy without apology. 18:07 – Michael explains why delaying a termination decision only makes it more painful, and why it will never be easier than today. ---- Links & Resources: Marshmallow Test Lewis Hamilton ---- Learn what sustainable growth can look like for your firm at crispcoach.com. ---- Do you love this podcast and want to see more game changing content? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. ---- Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O’Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like: 411. AMMA — What to Do When Everyone Wants Something From You 401. AMMA — From Girl Dad to CEO: The Michael Mogill Playbook 52. Brian Chase — Aligning Passion and Purpose

Transcript

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0:00.0	If somebody says I want ownership, let's also be clear about what ownership entails.
0:06.0	And a lot of times I think people say this and they want all the upside with none of the risk.
0:15.0	I'm Michael Logel, founder and CEO of Crisp, the nation's number one law from growth company.
0:22.6	I've built my business through practice, not theory.
0:25.6	Crisp started with just $500 to my name and has grown to over eight figures in revenue over the last few years,
0:30.6	earning a spot on the Inc 500 list of the fastest growing private companies in America.
0:34.6	Our approach has been to take everything we've learned about generating massive growth within our own organization and help the country's most ambitious
0:41.4	and committed law firm owners do the same for theirs. In each episode of this podcast, I sit down
0:46.0	with innovative market leaders from the legal industry and beyond to learn from those who thrive
0:50.6	in the face of adversity, challenge the status quo, and define what it means to be a true
0:54.9	game changer.
0:56.7	This is Jessica, head of coaching strategy at Chris, and today we're flipping the script
1:01.1	for another special edition episode to get Michael's take on, the difference between being
1:05.6	a great employee and demonstrating ownership potential, establishing a culture that rewards
1:10.3	performance rather than just longevity, and how to break the cycle of delay with and demonstrating ownership potential, establishing a culture that rewards performance
1:10.9	rather than just longevity,
1:13.0	and how to break the cycle of delay
1:14.8	when an employee clearly needs to be let go.
1:17.4	It will never be easier than it is today
1:19.5	to make the decision you know you need to make.
1:22.8	That's coming up on the Game Changing Attorney podcast.
1:37.1	All right, welcome back to another AMMA.
	...

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