I recently spent nearly two hours sitting at an airport gate, sitting about 5 feet behind a stand with Delta American Express card representatives. You’ve probably seen these stands: a table to the side of a concourse, with various promotional freebies, application forms neatly stacked, and one or two hawkers, trying desperately to get people to […]
When you think about business development, do you think more of “yes” or “no”? Most people seem to think “yes.” YES, I’ll attend that networking meeting YES, I’ll write that article or blog post or newsletter YES, I’ll meet with that potential referral source YES, I’ll get another certification or specialists’ certificate YES, I’ll speak […]
A client recently confided that he had never actually asked for business from a potential client. Surprised (since I knew that his $275,000 book of business hadn’t just happened), I asked what he meant, and he responded that asking for the business means saying something like, “I’d like to handle that for you.” A flat, […]
A business seminar, I attended recently, focused on hiring and managing employees. I was surprised that the program started by asking us attendees to identify our business vision and what we stand for. I was even more surprised to find how difficult that was to do! You may have heard the distinction between working in […]
“You’re working too hard. Why don’t you look for ways to work smarter?” That was a key element of the feedback I received during this quarter’s mastermind meeting. After hearing my colleagues’ suggestions, I put some new practices in place to help me work smarter, and I do believe I can already see a difference. […]
One of the top concerns for most lawyers is time management. We all have so much to accomplish in so little time, and it often seems that we’re always trying to cram more activities (whether professional or personal) into the non-negotiable 168 hours we have each week. Most of my coaching clients bring time management […]
Have you ever had this experience? You’re lying in bed, just about to go to sleep, drifting off even, until it hits you. That thing that you meant to do today? You forgot. Suddenly, your brain is on full alert, and you’re promising yourself that you’ll remember to do it tomorrow. Just like you promised […]
Failure is often a difficult topic for high performers. After all, those who achieve much do so by making it a habit to avoid failure. More than a few times, when I’ve talked with my own coach, the conversation has ended up with me saying, “Well, that’s fine, but failure just isn’t an option for me. […]
Social media is among the hottest activities online. It comes in many different flavors: the “big 3” (LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter), Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+, and many others. When done in a way that generates conversation and connections, blogging becomes one of the most effective social media platforms available. And yet, using any of these platforms […]
Clients often tell me that they socialize with friends and acquaintances who would make wonderful clients and/or referral sources. And yet, no one wants to be that awful person who’s always shilling for business from social contacts, missing the “leave me alone” vibes. But what a waste to nod along with a zipped lip when […]