Saw an article about raising mentally strong kids. The upshot: “Science says stop telling them ‘everything will be OK'”. Let them make mistakes and feel uncomfortable. That’s how they learn and grow.Â
Overly protective parents aren’t doing their kids any favors. Neither are overly protective attorneys.Â
Telling clients everything will be OK when we really don’t know this to be true sets them up to be disappointed and to mistrust us.
No, we don’t want them to worry unnecessarily. And yes, they pay us to do most of the worrying for them. But most clients, I think, want us to respect them enough to be candid with them.
Let them see what’s going on–the risks, the problems, the possible outcome. Don’t try to downplay the fees.
Our clients are adults. We should assume they can handle the truth.
We don’t need to bludgeon them with the truth, however. We should be measured when we present our evaluation of the case, gentle when we deliver bad news.
Like children, clients look to us for emotional clues. If we are calm in the face of trouble, they are more likely to be the same.
Bottom line: tell them everything and don’t let them see you sweat.
I built my practice with client referrals
