Being good isn’t good enough. Or is it?

February 5, 2014 by
Share

Being good isn’t good enough is a stunningly beautiful song about determination and greatness, a personal anthem for anyone who has ever wanted to be the best at something, like the athletes in the forthcoming Olympic games.

For most of us, however, the lyric, “I’ll be the best or nothing at all,” is inspiring, but hardly practical. Who is the best singer, football player, or lawyer?

Besides, we don’t have to be “the best” at what we do to be happy or successful. In fact, we don’t even have to be good.

We can hire people (or take on partners) who are good at things we don’t do well or don’t enjoy. You don’t like research? You’re not good at networking? It doesn’t matter. You’re good at something and that’s what you should focus on.

Speaking of focus, I was reading a review of Daniel Goleman’s book, Focus, about what it takes to achieve excellence. It’s not as simple as “10,000 hours of practice” or intelligence. There are a lot of factors, one of the most important of which is determination or grit.

Think about the successful people you know, especially the ones who aren’t particularly gifted, disciplined, or hard working. How did they make it big when so many others in their field did not? Often, the answer is simply that they wanted it more, and believed they could have it. Their desire, and refusal to settle for anything less, made the difference.

You don’t have to be the best at what you do. You just need to know what you want and keep going until you get it.

Need more referrals? Here’s a great way to get them.

Share
Filed Under: Inspiration, Personal development, success Tagged With: , , ,

Quick and painless blogging for lawyers

February 4, 2014 by
Share

One of the reasons lawyers often cite for not writing a blog is that it takes too much time. But it doesn’t have to.

This morning, I was reading, 12 Most Tedious Blogging Tasks You Can Outsource, and thought, “great topic for lawyers.” But as I went through the list of tasks, I thought, “I don’t do that”. In fact, I don’t do many of the things on the list, and the ones I do take me very little time.

Here’s the list of tasks, and what I do:

  1. Editing. I do my own. If I’m unsure about something, I run it by my wife.
  2. Finding photos. I used to add photos but I rarely do now, primarily because it takes too much time to find the right one and make sure I have the right to use it.
  3. Resizing and retitling photos. See above.
  4. Formatting. This takes seconds. I paste my text into the WordPress composition window, add bold or bullets or numbering, and done.
  5. Writing social media updates to promote the post. I paste the url of the post into Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. If my title is well written, that’s usually enough. I could do more here, I admit, but social media isn’t a major focus for me, so I don’t.
  6. Posting multiple updates once the post is live. I don’t do this either, but if I did, I’d automate it, as the author suggests.
  7. Social media mentions for anyone referenced in the post. If I want to reach out to someone I’ve written about, I’ll send them an email, and this doesn’t happen too often.
  8. Monitoring blog comments. I don’t get a lot of comments (lawyers are busy, yo), so not a problem. If I did, and it took too much time, I would consider outsourcing this. Or, just turn off comments.
  9. Monitoring social media activity. Again, I don’t do much with social media, so I don’t have much to monitor.
  10. Handling guest contributions. To date, I have one guest post on my blog. If I was doing this regularly, I would turn this over to an assistant.
  11. Managing audio and video files and slideshows. Nope.
  12. Writing. I like to write and make time for it. If I was still practicing, I would probably post once or twice a week, instead of daily as I do now. If I still didn’t have enough time, I’d have an assistant help with ideas, research, rough drafts, editing, polishing, and so on.

Blogging for lawyers doesn’t have to be tedious, time consuming, or painful. For one thing, as I wrote in a previous post, having a blog doesn’t make you a blogger.

I see writing a blog as, (a) a strategy for generating traffic, mostly from search engines, and build my list, and (b) a way to show website visitors what I know and what I can do to help them. This doesn’t (have to) take a lot of time. You could write a weekly blog post in an hour or less.

I don’t do much with social media. Many experts say that blogging and social media are inexorably intertwined. That may be true for (some? most?) bloggers but not for me. If you’re not writing a blog because you don’t have time for social media, or don’t like social media, you could do what I do. Or you could get some help.

I wrote a course on getting traffic (and clients) online. Click here.

Share
Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Social media, Social media marketing, Writing

What’s your addiction?

February 3, 2014 by
Share

So another actor dies of a drug overdose. Those who knew Phillip Seymour Hoffman are saddened by his loss, but not surprised. He’d been a heavy drug user for many years.

According to one of the CLE courses I took recently, 50% of lawyers have a drug or alcohol problem. I’m having trouble believing that number, but even if it’s 25%, it’s too much.

But I don’t want to talk about drug or alcohol problems. I want to talk about other kinds of problems. We all have them. Not addictions necessarily, but bad habits. Things we do that are bad for us. We know we shouldn’t do them, but we do.

Like eating poorly and not exercising. Like smoking. Like texting while driving.

Many people are habitual procrastinators. Or leave too many loose ends. Or associate with the wrong people. One day, those habits may bite them.

Many lawyers resist change. Okay, most lawyers. That can actually be a good habit, however, because change involves risk and lawyers need to manage risk for their clients and for themselves. In the context of marketing, however, stubbornly avoiding change can hurt you. Not having an effective website, for example, is marketing malpractice.

I’m certainly not equating a drug addiction with everyday bad habits. We don’t have to go to rehab to give up our addiction to watching reruns of Gilligan’s Island. But bad habits of any kind can be deleterious to our physical or fiscal health.

What are your bad habits? What’s holding you back from achieving your goals? What should you eliminate or cut down on?

Take inventory of your weaknesses, bad habits, and addictions. The first step towards change is recognizing what needs to be changed.

Does your website need a makeover? This will help.

Share
Filed Under: Personal development Tagged With: , , ,

One of my favorite words is also one of my least favorites

January 31, 2014 by
Share

One of my favorite words is “why”. It’s better than “how”. How is easy. Look it up. Ask someone how they do it. Hire someone to do it for you.

“What” is a great word. It’s vital to know what you want, what the client wants, what the world wants. Without knowing what we want, our life is dictated by randomness.

“When” is an important word, but one of my least favorite. Deadlines, due dates, promises, statutes of limitations, all necessary, but a major source of anxiety.

“Who” can be good or bad. Who we marry, who hires us, who we associate with, can bring us great joy or great despair. Often, it’s neither because most of our relationships aren’t especially deep or overly time consuming.

Which brings us back to why.

Why connects us with our deepest desires and purpose. You may know what you want, and that’s essential, but why you want it is the emotional lubricant that gets you moving towards it. And when you are having a hard time and feel like quitting, remembering why pulls you back from the abyss and back on track.

Why bypasses logic and transcends limitations. Why is your inner child speaking. Why is raw emotion and gut feeling.

Think about something important you want to accomplish this year. Perhaps you want to earn a certain amount of money. That’s “what”. But it’s never the money, it’s what you could do with that money. That’s your why.

Think about your why. It should feel good. Put a smile on your face. If you are tense right now, thinking about your why should relax you. Give you hope. And inspire you to act.

Yes, why is one of my favorite words. But sometimes, why can also be one of my least favorite words.

Why didn’t you finish? Why did you say that? Why isn’t this important to you? Why is this taking so long?

Questions like these speak to our deepest emotions because they make us aware of our frailties and faults and remind us that we don’t have what we want.

You must not dwell on these thoughts. Answering them is useless and harmful. Let them go.

Think about what you want, and why. Everything else will take care of itself.

Share
Filed Under: Inspiration, Personal development Tagged With:

Hack away at the unessential

January 30, 2014 by
Share

I just heard about a hoarder who had 30 years of newspapers and magazines stacked floor to ceiling in nearly every room of his house. Yeah, he had a lot of issues.

(Rim shot.)

So last weekend, I cleaned out my closet and armoire and got rid of a lot of old clothes. There’s empty space now, and it feels good. Next stop, my office.

Once a year, I get the bug to de-clutter. I like to, “Hack away at the unessential,” as Bruce Lee said. Getting rid of things I don’t use, simplifying my life.

It’s not just about possessions. I try to do the same in my digital word. Eliminating (or at least filing away in a place I won’t see them) forms, emails, notes, and assorted paperwork. I pare down the apps on my iPhone, too.

I like looking at an empty email inbox and a slimmed down “My documents”. It gives me a sense of peace and control over my world. Fewer things to look at, think about, or update.

Bruce Lee talked about getting rid of the unessential to better focus on the few things that mattered most. He concentrated his work outs, his energy, and his focus on a few things. It made him more efficient, quicker and more powerful. He may never have described it as such, but he appears to have embraced the Pareto Principle, eliminating the “trivial many” so he could focus on the “precious few”.

In a law practice, that might be achieved by getting rid of (or filing away) eighty percent of your forms (letters, checklists), so you can focus on the twenty percent you use the most. You’ll have time to make them even better.

You could do something similar with client intake. Identify the most important parts of the process and spend more time on them. Do you really need to know all of the facts or review all of the documents at the first meeting or might some of this be done later? Freeing up some time at the first meeting would allow you to get to know the client better and he, you.

It could also mean paring down your client list, getting rid of marginal clients who pay the least or give you the most trouble, so you can focus on your best clients.

Bruce Lee believed that simpler is better. When you hack away at the unessential, you aren’t mired in complexity or distracted by minutia. Fewer moving parts makes you more agile. You get better at the most important things.

How can you hack away at the unessential in your law practice?

Share
Filed Under: Law office management, Personal development, Productivity Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Trust me, I’m a lawyer

January 29, 2014 by
Share

We all know that if people don’t trust you, they won’t hire you. And trust is not automatic. You have to earn it. 

Many people will give you the benefit of the doubt, at first, especially if you were referred to them. But their trust can be lost in a heartbeat.

My wife used a referral service she likes to have some roofers come out for an inspection. First one, great. On time, friendly, plain spoken. He showed her photos of some minor issues that need work and gave her an estimate. She liked what he said and he’s in the running.

Yesterday, the second one showed up (from the same referral service), but there was a problem. He couldn’t get up on the roof. It seems he had a short, fold-up ladder, which he transported in the trunk of his car, and it wouldn’t reach. When my wife asked why he didn’t bring a longer ladder, he explained that he would need to drive a truck and the gas would be too expensive.

Done. My wife instantly knew this guy wouldn’t get the job.

He said he could send someone with the truck later in the week. Right, after waiting for this guy to show up and experiencing his bewildering lack of preparedness, my wife will happily sit around waiting for one of his guys to show up. Guess again.

“I don’t trust him,” she told me. And I don’t blame her.

So now, he’s not getting the job and he’ll get a bad review on the referral service website.

Booyah.

Prospective clients aren’t looking for a reason to hire you so much as they are looking for a reason to disqualify you. And it doesn’t take much. If you are unprepared, if you squawk about your costs of doing business (build the gas money into your fees, bub), if you do anything that says “unprofessional,” that’s it. You’re off the list.

Anything can knock you out of the running. Someone doesn’t like your photo on your website because you look mean, or there is no photo on your website so they can’t look at your eyes, or you didn’t call them back right away, or you yawned on the phone and sounded like you didn’t care.

Anything.

Am I saying you have to meet certain minimum standards to even be in the running? Yes. Getting the basics right only gets you in the game. If you want to get the job, you have to do even more.

Yes, it’s hard. You have to be ever vigilant and pay attention to detail. When you are in a service business or a profession, it’s not just the quality of your work, it’s about the entire client experience.

But hey, you’re lucky. At least you don’t have to schlep a ladder.

Want more referrals? Get The 30 Day Referral Blitz

Share
Filed Under: Client relations, Closing the sale, Marketing legal services, Salesmanship Tagged With:

Imagine there’s no clients

January 28, 2014 by
Share

Imagine there’s no clients. It’s easy if you try. Yes, I have the Beatles on my mind.

But I really do want you to imagine that you have no clients. (Don’t panic. You’ll get them back in a minute. If you want to. . .).

I want you to think about what you would do if you were starting your practice today. Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?

Would you choose a different practice area? Would you target different clients? Would you have partners? Employees?

Where would you office? Would you use a different billing system?

What would you do to bring in new clients? What would you NOT do?

You may want to partner up with another lawyer or a friend and do this exercise. Tell each other what you would change about your practice, knowing what you know now.

So, what do you think? What would you do differently if you were starting over?

Here’s the thing. Whatever it is you said, no matter how weird or frightening it might seem, you should do it now. Make those changes, or at least start in that direction.

You don’t have to turn your practice completely upside down or do anything reckless. You don’t have to tell all your clients to get lost. But you know things today you didn’t know before–about the market, about the day-to-day activities of a practicing lawyer, and about yourself–and you should use what you know.

In fact, knowing what you know now, taking it step by step, you could completely remake your practice in just a year or two. You could be in a completely different (and happier) place in less time than you spent in law school. If you start now.

What if you told yourself you wouldn’t go into private practice, you’d do something else? If imaging there’s no clients made you smile, don’t ignore the feeling. It may take a bit longer, but you should probably think about doing something else. Find something you would love to do and start working towards it. Three or four years from now, you could be there.

And, if you discovered that you wouldn’t change much of anything, that’s good, too. You’ve done a “level three diagnostic” and been cleared for your continuing mission.

Hellen Keller said, “Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing.” I agree. You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one.

Share
Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Inspiration, Law office management, Marketing Plan, Personal development

Help me if you can I’m feeling down

January 27, 2014 by
Share

Actually, I’m fine. Just singin me some Beatles and thinking about how difficult it is for folks to ask for help. It’s an ego thing. We don’t want to appear weak. So we don’t ask, and when help is offered, we often turn it down.

But people want to help. It makes them feel good. I know this because I know how good it feels when I help others.

So we should ask each other for help more often. It’s good for them and good for you.

You can get just about anything you want just by asking. You can ask your clients for all kinds of help. You can ask the readers of your newsletter, personal friends, professional contacts, anyone, including strangers.

What do you want? Whatever it is, someone can help you get it.

  • referrals
  • information
  • advice
  • introductions
  • copies (forms, letters, checklists)
  • recommendations (products, software, books)
  • time (as a volunteer)
  • testimonials
  • someone to talk to
  • donations (to your cause)
  • write a guest post or allow you to write one
  • invite you to their next networking event
  • speak at their event
  • pass out your cards, reports
  • feedback
  • mentoring
  • Likes, Re-tweets, and Shares
  • a ride to the airport

Just about anything.

Time out. Take a break. Sing along with me and the Fab Four:

When I was younger,
So much younger than today
I never needed anybody’s
Help in any way
But now those days are gone
I’m not so self assured
Now I find, I’ve changed my mind
I’ve opened up the door

Help me if you can,
I’m feeling down
And I do, appreciate you being round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won’t you please, please help me

And now my life has changed
In oh so many ways
My independence seems to vanish in the haze
But every now and then
I feel so insecure
I know that I just need you
Like I’ve never done before

Okay, you may need some help asking for help. You’re out of practice. You haven’t asked for help since you needed Mom to tie your shoes. How do you get started?

First, make a list of what you want. Big things, little things, and everything in between. What could you ask for? Write down as many things as you can think of that would make your life better.

Next, write down the names of people you know who could help you get the things on your list. Match people with tasks suited to their interests, strengths, and resources. (Later, when you get better at asking, you can ask strangers.)

Then, choose something, contact someone and ask for help. Be direct. Tell them why you’re asking them.

Compliment them if possible. Tell them you value their feedback or insights, or value them as a friend or client and know you can count on them.

Start with something small, and easy. Something that’s hard to turn down. Have them read something you wrote, for example, and tell you what you think. Or ask them to recommend a good movie. Be specific. “Would you introduce me to your life insurance agent?” is better than “Would you introduce me to some professionals?”

You start small to get used to asking. Get over your resistance and see that people are willing to help. See how good it feels when they say yes.

Later, you’ll graduate to bigger things. Eventually, you’ll get good at asking. And you’ll be amazed at how much people are willing to do.

You may also surprise yourself at how much you have to give others. When people do for you, you will feel obliged to do something for them. When you do, you’ll feel good about that. You’ll want to do more. The more you do, the more others will want to do for you.

And so it goes. Help begets help.

If you’re having trouble asking, start by offering. Call someone, find out what they need and help them get it.

Years ago, I read, “The Aladdin Factor: How to Ask For and Get What You Want in Every Area of Your Life” a book by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, the team that brought you “Chicken Soup for the Soul” and its progeny. If you’re interested in this topic and you like inspiring stories about people who experienced amazing changes in their lives by asking for help, you should pick up a copy.

Okay, now I’m going to ask you a favor. If you like this post, would you forward it to someone you care about? Thank you. I knew I could count on you. Now, what can I do for you?

Share
Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Communication, Inspiration, Marketing legal services, Personal development, Relationship marketing Tagged With: ,

The one thing. . .

January 24, 2014 by
Share

If an angel sat on your shoulder and whispered in your ear the one thing you need to know or do right now, what would it be?

Not two or ten things, just one.

You may have to search for it, but deep down, you know the answer. There’s a message you need to hear, something that will profoundly change your life in a positive way. What is it?

It’s simple, a single word or a short phrase, but important. You’ve thought about it before. Now it’s time to embrace it.

It might be personal, like a reminder to “lose weight” or “smile” or “call her”. It might be work related like “new clients” or “start the blog” or “networking”.

It might be anything.

When you have the answer, write it down and keep it in front of you, so you will see it often. You might put sticky notes on your computer, on your bathroom mirror, and on the visor in your car. If you have a reminder app, set it to pop up several times a day and display your “one thing”.

Mine came to me last night. The message to myself is “write faster”. I have several projects in the works that involve writing and I’m not an especially fast writer. If I can get the work done more quickly, good things will happen for me.

Note, these aren’t affirmations or goals or anything formal or structured. Just something to think about. A place to start. You might turn it into a project, with specific tasks, or you may leave it as a simple touchstone.

This is supposed to be easy, and inspiring. When you look at your “one thing” you should feel good. If what you wrote makes you feel guilty or unhappy or any other negative emotion, change it.

Aside from inspiration, there is a practical application for writing down your one thing. It summons the power of your subconscious mind to make your one thing come true.

Every time I look at “write faster,” my subconscious mind is working on my behalf to make it so. It will help me notice tools and techniques that can help me write faster. It will help me stop editing as I write, so I will get first drafts done more quickly. When I slow down or go off on a tangent, it will pull me back to the task at hand.

When I got up this morning, I had forgotten that I had written down my “one thing”. When I saw it for the first time, I smiled and started thinking about what it will be like to write faster and get more done, and what a wonderful year it will be to have that play out.

What’s your “one thing”?

Share
Filed Under: Goal Setting, Inspiration, Personal development Tagged With:

A few thoughts about lawyer suicides

January 23, 2014 by
Share

We’re seeing lots of articles lately talking about an increase in lawyer suicides, speculating about the causes and offering solutions.

We know the causes. Money, stress, and variations thereof.

We also know the solutions. More money and less stress.

If you know someone who is struggling and depressed and following a destructive path, or if you are that someone, I want to offer some thoughts. I’m not an expert. I’ve never had a substance abuse problem or thought about killing myself. But I’ve been through a lot of major challenges in my career and personal life. I know what it’s like to hit bottom, and what it takes to turn things around.

First, you can get through this. Most do. It will be painful and it may take a year or two before things are completely healed, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. You must be know this.

Second, you can’t find solutions until you admit there is a problem. If you are in denial, you’re only prolonging your misery and inviting other problems.

Third, don’t dwell on the problems, focus on the solutions. Things aren’t going the way you want? What would fix it? Make a list and get to work.

Fourth, there’s lots of help available. Support groups, information, counselors, family, friends. Don’t for a moment think you have to go through this alone. It’s okay to admit you need help and it’s smart to avail yourself of that help.

Fifth, start immediately. Call someone, today. Do something, right now. The sooner you start, the sooner you will be on your way to a new beginning.

One more thing. You don’t have to continue practicing. If you’ve been thinking about doing something else but have been rationalizing why you can’t, you have my permission to explore other options.

Yes, I know you have all this time and money invested in your career. And yes, I know how difficult it is to walk away and do something new, especially in this economic climate. But none of that matters. If you are unhappy, you don’t have to continue. If you’ve always wanted to be or do something else, you can.

If you have people who depend on you, it will be harder and take longer. It took me three years of writing and planning before I launched the course that issued in a new chapter in my life. But I did it and I’m very glad I did.

I learned to smile again. You will, too.

Share
Filed Under: Dealing with stress, Legal industry, Personal development
« Previous Page
Next Page »