Don't Let The Clock Run Out.

Where does business come from and how soon will it come? How long does it take to build a practice?

I don't know the specific answer for you to these questions. But I do know that business comes from picking just a few marketing activities for your niche, and doing them consistently, over and over again. It comes from developing name recognition and a solid reputation. It comes from developing credibility and trust. A sustainable practice does not come without these elements.

A newer lawyer I know is closing her practice. She got to the end of her financial resources just as she decided to pick a subniche, identify her ideal client base and start to learn how to reach it through focused networking and marketing. Smart, energetic and passionate, she ran out of time too soon.

If you don't have any idea how to start doing and developing these things, contact me or another lawyer coach. I give complimentary 30 minute coaching calls so that you can experience the benefits of coaching. We can get you going. I don't want you to run out of time.

"Six Thinking Hats": Using Different Perspectives To Make Better Decisions

As a lawyer coach, I often ask my clients who are feeling stuck or particularly challenged to look at their challenges from various perspectives to find one that fits and gives them opportunities and ways to move forward. By using different perspectives, my clients have found fresh ways to tackle various challenges. These have included discomfort with networking events such as chamber or business association gatherings, with marketing themselves and describing what they do, with billing all of their time, with developing a peer relationship with their more senior colleagues, with telling success stories, etc. Some of this perspective work includes metaphorically putting on different hats and thinking like an entrepreneur, a partner, a rainmaker, a leader, etc.

A lawyer reminded me this morning of another use of perspectives called "Six Thinking Hats". This is a decision making technique developed by Edward de Bono in his book "6 Thinking Hats." http://www.edwdebono.com/ See also ttp://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_07.htm The "hats" are a tool for looking at a decision from all points of view in order to make a better decision. Much like the perspective work my clients use, using the perspectives embodied by the Six Thinking Hats pushes people outside their habitual ways of thinking. Taking more perspectives into account results in better, sounder decision making.

You can "wear" these hats yourself when you are making an individual decision, and you can actually distribute colored hats to be worn by people in your group during a decision making discussion.

Here's a very quick snapshot of the perspective and thinking represented by each hat.
White Hat: focuses on the data available.
Red Hat: focuses on intuition, emotion, gut reaction.
Black Hat: focuses on negativity, pessimism, caution, worst case scenario.
Yellow Hat: focuses on positivity.
Green Hat; focuses on creativity.
Blue Hat: focuses on process control. The leader of a group making a decision might wear this hat.

Lawyers are trained to think logically and rationally, making decisions based on facts and the law. The challenge: take off your purely lawyer hat and put on these six hats the next time you face a big decision individually or as a group. Notice what happens to the quality of your decision making and/or also the effect on the group dynamics.

Associates: Who Do You See In the Mirror?

I coach a number of lawyers in the mid to senior associate category. Despite success as associates, they often realize that they still hold themselves back by thinking of themselves first as associates, rather than as lawyers or, more specifically, as someone's lawyer. This self image affects how they interact with more senior lawyers and partners, and with clients and potential clients. It also often influences how those people see them and treat them.

I've seen miraculous things start to happen when these associates make the conceptual shift to a bigger vision for themselves. I've seen it happening again this week. When they start to act more like lawyers than associates, they've started to receive more responsibility and get more respect. They've gotten better work. They've started developing ideas and working towards a focus in their practice. They're strengthening relationships with their colleagues and clients, and building relationships with potential clients.

When you step into a bigger vision for yourself, you start taking control of your career. What's there not to like about that?

I talked with another potential client in this demographic this week. I hope he looks in the mirror and sees what I see for him.

Powerful Questions

This week, in a non-coaching context, I experienced the power of coaching questions to diffuse tension and start a productive discussion about an employee's performance. You don't have to be a coach to ask these types of questions.

• What will help you do your job?
• What do you need to get this [task accomplished]?
• What do you need from us?
• What can we do to help you to . . . ?

If these kinds of questions diffuse tension and open up discussions at work, how can they help your other relationships? What if you asked your spouse:

• What can I do to help you . . . this week?
• What do you need from the rest of us [to keep your sanity over the Thanksgiving holiday]?

Thoughtful questions to potential and current clients will elicit the same kind of information. You'll find out their pain and you'll realize what you can do to help them.

You don't have to be a lawyer coach to ask powerful questions, and you don't always have to wear your lawyer hat.