
The Agile Attorney Podcast 089. The Four Ds of Productivity: Removing Bottlenecks & Managing Capacity
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Sep 30, 2025 Discover the Four Ds of productivity: do it, delegate it, defer it, or drop it. Learn why only two of these options truly relieve bottlenecks in legal practices. Explore the hidden dangers of delegation, and how it can lead to unexpected quality assurance issues. Dive into the challenges of deferring tasks as simply passing the buck to your future self. Uncover the emotional difficulty of dropping commitments, but see how it can enhance focus and productivity in your law practice.
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Ben Hudson’s Boomerang Delegation
- Ben Hudson delegated upstream work and found it boomeranged back to him because his attorney-review bottleneck couldn't keep up.
- The delegated work piled up and increased his backup instead of freeing capacity.
Delegate Downstream Of Bottlenecks
- Avoid delegating work that sits upstream of your bottleneck because it will create more QA and rework for you.
- Delegate only tasks downstream of the bottleneck or reduce your QA needs via negotiated working agreements.
Use Negotiated Working Agreements
- Use negotiated working agreements rather than rigid step-by-step procedures to reduce QA rework.
- Agree on what 'fit for purpose' looks like with the delegee before handing off work.





