INSIGHTS + GUIDANCE ON
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FOR LAWYERS
As we enter fourth quarter, it is more critical than ever to understand and to be able to articulate to firm leadership what the return on any proposed investment might be, and what the time horizon is for the realization of that return. In the following article, Tom Nixon discusses two important curves that are vital to not only predicting future forecasts, but also to illustrate and validate the worthiness of the endeavor.
Despite all the challenges, most lawyers seem to be managing the shift to remote work fairly well. But there’s always room for more and better productivity. From creating a better to-do list to working in sprints, we provide some tactics that are most relevant to remaining effective and productive while working from home.
As with any area of professional development you want to improve, creating high-impact content requires thinking strategically, developing new skills, and making it a consistent practice. You can’t keep doing the same things and expect different results. If you want to take your results to the next level, you need to up your game. Here are four ways to take your thought leadership to the next level.
Labor Day is behind us, marking the unofficial end of summer. As we approach Q4 2020, there is no better time to reassess where this past year has taken you, and to be more purposeful about how you finish the year—and perhaps look ahead to 2021 with a clearer picture of what you want the future to look like.
I’m firmly of the opinion that most lawyers would benefit from business coaching. That probably sounds self serving since I’m a coach myself, but in sharing this opinion I’m drawing mostly on my experience as a “coachee” while running my own small law firm in 2010. For me, having the opportunity to consistently work with someone who held me accountable to the goals I set for myself was critical to my success.
During a recent podcast conversation with my co-host Jay Harrington, we covered a variety of indices and both leading and lagging indicators of legal marketing efficacy, until I switched gears near the end and surprised Jay with a plot twist. This, in essence, framed the answer to a listeners question, “If you could measure only one key performance indicator, what would it be?”
A lawyer who succeeds at business development typically has learned to enjoy the process itself, while a lawyer who struggles tends to fixate on failures, doesn’t feel in control of his circumstances, and blames externalities for poor outcomes. In other words, lawyers who succeed over the long term approach business development with a “growth mindset” and not a “fixed mindset.”
“Too many attorneys are unhappy." Five lamentable words that headlined an article by Jay Harrington at Attorney at Work served as the precursor and pretext to Tom Nixon's first read of "The Productivity Pivot," a book just released by Jay Harrington that identifies and endeavors to overcome the root cause of career dissatisfaction for lawyers. Read Tom's review to learn why he claims the book "...will change your mind. It will change your daily routine. And, yes...it may even change your life.”
