Great leaders don’t perform in a vacuum. They can’t do it all themselves. If you are committed to achieving the next level of growth or excellence within your firm, it is essential to nurture and incentivize leadership qualities among your staff and colleagues. Here's how
Read MoreWhat is needed for effective leadership, business development, and career trajectory? Discover that extra ingredient that makes your actions really count.
Read MorePeople are the most important factor in your firm’s success. Focusing on the hiring process in a systematic and thoughtful way increases profitability. See how.
Read MoreMost lawyers think that “excellence” is a strategy. It is not. Discover how a real strategy can help you create a more successful and satisfying practice.
Read MoreDirect communication can seem scary and even potentially counterproductive. Here are some tips for getting what you want from your staff or colleagues.
Read MoreA discussion of the three decision making flaws that Chip and Dan Heath wrote about in “Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work.”
Read MoreWhat do a managing partner debating the merits of a prospective merger and a teenager planning his Friday night have in common? They’re both trying very hard to make the right decision. Everyone struggles with this, and of course, it comes up all the time in business development, as in other areas of life. People use pros and cons lists, professional consultants, tarot cards, and literally thousands of other approaches to decision-making; yet humans remain appallingly bad at it.
Read MoreTurkish Riot is an online video game in which the goal is to send as many tweets as possible before the police beat you up. It was created last summer, presumably as a lark, to mock the role of police violence in the Gezi political protests in Turkey. I’m not usually a fan of video games, but as someone living in the middle of Istanbul at the time, I thought it was hysterically funny. I’ve never made it past 17 tweets. Maybe you will do better. You can try it here:
Tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets and political intimidation take their toll on everyone, but the Gezi protesters did an amazing job of using humor to stay energized and motivated.
Read MoreThis article focuses on business relationships, but really the same exercise is applicable for friendships, romantic relationships, etc. Just think of the “bottom line” as your happiness, contentment and achievement of your life goals. The only place where I do NOT recommend using this approach is for evaluating close relatives and spouses. You are busy. You don’t have time to waste on people (and businesses) that don’t add significant value to your bottom line. Do you have trouble making enough time for all your clients AND marketing? Are you having trouble deciding for which potential new clients you should offer special discounts? Then this exercise is perfect for you. This month I am introducing a quick trick to help you decide which of your clients you should “kick to the curb.”
Read MoreAs lawyers, many people may think that their only options for living abroad would be to work for a big international firm or an NGO. But actually it’s not that hard to find or create a job for yourself overseas. I moved to Istanbul in 2010 because my Dad had died and I was depressed and wanted a change. Although technically I am a lawyer, I haven’t practiced in many years and went to Istanbul intending to create a coaching practice, not a law practice. These tips are based on my experience as well as that of other lawyers who I met living abroad.
Read MoreHave you noticed that smart people can be really ineffective and stupid people can be surprisingly wise? Intelligence only gets you so far. And sometimes it actually makes navigating life’s challenges more difficult. My clients are brilliant. My friends are brilliant. I surround myself with clever, innovative and creative people. I have noticed that intelligent people generally want to use their brains to figure out solutions (preferably innovative and unique) even when their mothers told them the answers thirty years ago or when the directions are clearly written right in front of them.
Read MoreLast month I discussed how to decide whether to persevere and continue to pursue your goals even in the face of setbacks. This month’s article is basically part two. If you decided that your goals ARE worth pursing, how do you decide if you should stay the course or if you should revise your plan? Here are some of the questions to ask yourself:
Read MoreHere we are in mid-summer. It’s hot and humid and as good a time as any to get fed up with the circumstances of our lives and make a change. We get what we are willing to tolerate - not what we deserve, not what we were born into, not what fate gives us. We get what we are willing to tolerate. If we are willing to endure a lousy work environment, or bad relationships, or a schedule that is too busy for exercise, then that is what we will get. One of my favorite coaches describes the difference between coaching and therapy as “therapy helps people to tolerate the circumstances of their lives while coaching helps people to see circumstances as intolerable.”
Read MoreHave you noticed that some “positive” people seem smarmy, condescending and basically you just want to punch them? Meanwhile, others are magnetic and just being around them makes you feel more joyful, connected and alive. Small children are almost always in this category. This article is my two cents on relentlessly positive attitudes and what people don’t tell you about the law of attraction. I often meet people who say things like, “it’s important to always be positive because then you attract good things into your life.” This worries me. I get the value of being positive AND there is something insidious about the “always.”
Read MoreYou may just need more time for the results of your efforts to start manifesting. So, when is persistence worth it and when should you just go home and eat ice cream? You first need to identify whether you are experiencing temporary setbacks or if there is a fatal flaw in your goal.
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Generating Courage: A Key Component to Business Development, Law Practice Today, April 14, 2015
Asking for Business from a Distance, National Law Review, April 13, 2016
The Most Underutilized Tool in a Leaders’ Tool Box
Law Practice Today,
December 15, 2015
Missing a Strategy for Your ADR Practice? Here Are Some Tips
ABA Dispute Resolution Section's
Just Resolutions magazine, November 2015
The Good, the Bad, and the Non-Billable: The Reality of Coaching Lawyers
Published in the Library of Professional Coaching,
April 2015
41% Fail. Simple Steps to Thrive as a Lateral Attorney
(March 28, 2018)
Thinking About Your Career This Summer? Optimists Should Read This.
(July 13, 2017)
A Better Way to Network
(September 27, 2016)
How to be Direct AND Improve Relationships
(March 5, 2015)
Don’t Make These Mistakes – Almost Everyone Does
(September 8, 2014)
No Lose Decisions: A Model for Reducing Decision-Making Fears
(May 1, 2015)
The 20/200 Rule: A Way to Increase Productivity
(February 2, 2015)
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