This month’s quotations suggest how to get focused, follow priorities, and get things done… Clarity affords focus. ~Thomas Leonard Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in. ~Attributed to Andrew Jackson, Napoleon Bonaparte, and others. “The Principle of Priority states (a) you must know the […]
I spent all of last weekend outlining and getting started on my next two books. They’re both about business development, of course, but one is designed to be an idea-generator and action-prompter, while the other is more of a teaching book. I got outlines done for both and started working on the actual writing. By […]
I don’t watch much television, but while I had the flu I didn’t feel up to doing anything more energetic than staring at a screen. As I was flipping channels, I happened across what I thought at first was a rather poorly done law firm ad… And then I discovered that it was a promo […]
1. Why “Inspirational Quotes” Don’t Work (and what does). Peter Shankman, founder of Help A Reporter Out(“HARO”) writes convincingly on the short-lived motivation from inspirational quotes. I love quotes, but I agree that they won’t carry you for the long haul. Shankman suggests this instead: “Do today, what you know you can do tomorrow.” In business development […]
Selling The Invisible by Harry Beckwith You can’t see them — so how to you sell them? That’s the problem with services… This book begins with the core problem of service marketing: service quality. It then suggests how to learn what you must improve, with examples of techniques that work. It then moves to service […]
I hope you took time over the last few weeks to think about how 2012 went for you and your practice, and especially what you’d like to do differently in 2013. Change requires action, but unconsidered action relies too heavily on luck. That’s why planning is a must. Have you ever been so eager to […]
Several times over the last six years, I’ve shared one of my favorite passages from one of my legal heroes, the Hon. Elbert Parr Tuttle. Judge Tuttle served on the Fifth and Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals from 1954 until his death just a month shy of age 99, in 1996. He’s remembered as a […]
I’ve been struggling with how to address last Friday’s tragedy in Newtown. Perhaps you are from the Connecticut area; more likely, you’re a parent from another part of the country or world. I am neither, and yet last Friday’s events have shaken me to my core. My thoughts and prayers go out to those directly affected, […]
Burnout is a real issue for lawyers. Just about every lawyer has at least an occasional period in which it seems that work is pressing 18-20 hours a day, and most of us know intuitively that it’s important to recover following that kind of exertion. But what about the kind of day-to-day grind that can […]
Last week on Twitter, I posted this innocuous (I thought) statement: “Writing and speaking tend to be time-sensitive activities with low immediate payoff.” And then the firestorm started. It seemed that people just had to remind me that writing and speaking are good long-term strategies for business development. To which I’d respond, of course! When […]