Monday, February 13th, 2012
John is bored. His firm just hasn’t been busy this month and instead of the usual big transaction work all he has are small bits and pieces of corporate matters. Even though none of it is complicated he just can’t get down to doing any of it and is wasting time surfing the net instead.
Terry is deadline driven. Every day is about putting out fires and meeting last minute deadlines. He knows he should plan ahead and get to his projects done before the last minute but he has gotten use to the adrenaline rush and just can’t get motivated to do anything without the pressure of a short deadline.
What do John and Terry have in common? They are both procrastinators. This month in my slaw column I tackle procrastination, how to identify which of three kinds you have, and what to do about it. Please post a comment here about any additional procrastination-beating tips you can recommend.
For further reading on the subject try Dr. Piers Steel’s book “The Procrastination Equation.” Dr. Steel’s book offers an unflinching look at why people procrastinate, types of procrastinators and easily actionable tips for reducing procrastination in your professional and personal life.
Posted in Balance, work-life balance | Permalink | 2 Comments »
Monday, February 6th, 2012
What does it take to be a great business developer? What does it take to attract clients? In law firms I find there is often this image floating around of the rainmaker as a smooth talking, assertive and maybe even aggressive promoter. In my personal experience the great rainmakers are quite different from this. As I write this post I have one rainmaker in mind. He is the consummate professional. He is a quiet, soft spoken man of a few words. He has a sharp business mind that his clients appreciate. Although mentorship may not be his favorite thing he has become very good at it, and he delegates a great deal of work to his team, not because he enjoys supervising but because it is good for the lawyers under him and opens up room in his practice for more work to flow in.
To all you lawyers reading this post let me tell you, you just might have what it takes to be a good if not excellent rainmaker. Last year a Harvard Business Review’s blog by Steve W. Martin listed the top characteristics of the best salespeople and they read like a description of the many lawyers I have the pleasure of working with:
Modesty: Top sales people score medium to high for modesty and humility and are team players. I have worked with so many lawyers who have told me they didn’t go to law school to become a salesperson, and that they hate promoting themselves. Well here is the surprising news – that sentiment is shared by some of the best sales people out there.
Conscientiousness: Top sales people are highly conscientious about their work and are strongly motivated by duty and responsibility. Again, doesn’t this sound like most of the lawyers you know?
Achievement Orientation: Top sales people are very goal oriented and track their performance against their goals. The legal profession is full of modest and conscientious professionals but far fewer are achievement oriented. I have seen how the drive for accuracy and perfection, coupled with an aversion to risk can override the focus on achieving outcomes. The good news is that by developing a process for goal setting and progress tracking in your legal practice you acquire the benefits of this ‘achievement orientation”.
Reader take note: I point out these traits because it is helpful to remember that the myth of the rainmaker often obscures the reality about what it takes to be a trusted professional and have the capacity to bring in business for yourself and your colleagues. In many cases I find that simply working to develop new habits such as setting goals and tracking performance can get you from mediocre performance to good in a short period of time. The key is that the values of hard work, discipline, humility and duty are assets as much for business development as they are for your legal practice.
Posted in Business Development, Leadership | Permalink | 1 Comment »
