A corporation is like the human body; it needs to keep the blood flowing. In an organizational context, that “blood” can take the form of money, ideas, projects, and information—to name a few. If one part of the organization is not functioning correctly, it gums up everything else. Thus, business velocity, or the ability to operate quickly and in-sync with other units, should be a metric of success across the board.

For corporate legal departments (CLDs), keeping things flowing is akin to exercise. You need to keep moving if you’re to remain a vital contributor to the company at large. Sitting too long on a particular contract, for instance, delays revenue recognition, kills deals, and can thus affect market capitalization. Or, if legal cannot perform the due diligence portion of M&A quickly and thoroughly, the deal might not go through or (worse) some critical areas may be missed. Additionally, the inability to address compliance and regulatory issues in a timely manner—including thorough responses to investigations—can lead to huge fines and even criminal penalties.