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In 7 Strategies for Wealth and Happiness, author Jim Rohn tells a story about an interaction he had as a young man with his mentor, entrepreneur John Earl Schoaff, that changed Rohn’s life. Here’s the excerpt:
One morning, two weeks after I started working for him, Mr. Shoaff and I were having breakfast together. Just as I was about to finish my eggs, he said, “Jim, let’s take a look at your list of goals so that we can review and discuss them. Maybe that’s the best way I can help you right now.”
“But I don’t have a list with me,” I replied.
“Well, is it out in your car or at home somewhere?”
“No, sir, I don’t have a list anywhere.”
Mr. Shoaff sighed. “Well, young man, looks like this is where we’d better start.” Then, looking directly into my eyes, he said, “If you don’t have a list of your goals, I can guess your bank balance within a few hundred dollars.”
He guessed right. And that really got my attention. I was astonished. “You mean that if I had a list of my goals my bank balance would change?” I asked. “Drastically,” he said. That day I became a student of the art and science of goal setting.
***
Goals matter. Without them we’re adrift. They’re particularly important when it comes to building a legal practice, because without a business development goal at the forefront of your mind it’s easy to default back to spending all your time billing hours.
Let’s dive in and discuss why setting business development goals is important, how to set them, and how to achieve them.
Why Goals Matter
Lawyers are productive. They get things done. When it comes to their legal work, their productivity is aimed at specific tasks (writing briefs, negotiating the deal, creating the will) that are often subject to rules (page count, rules of civil procedure, laws and regulations) and deadlines. Accordingly, I bet you’re not explicitly setting goals like “finish the brief”—you’re just finishing the brief because that’s your job and there are real consequences if you don’t. Explicit goal setting is unnecessary.
It’s different when it comes to business development. Generally speaking, there are no rules. There are no deadlines, other than those you set for yourself. And there’s often a great deal of angst and uncertainty about how to move forward. As a result, it’s easy to spend 30 minutes mindlessly scrolling through LinkedIn and call it business development.
The point is, many lawyers try to be more productive when it comes to business development, but if that productivity takes you in the wrong direction, then it’s just wasted effort.
This is why goal setting is critical. Goals provide direction and motivation—they help us aim our productivity at the right target.
How to Set Effective Goals
There is tons of advice out there about how to set effective goals. In the process of writing my book The Productivity Pivot, which contains an entire chapter on goal setting, I read and distilled the research and came to the conclusion that there are four key components of effective goal setting:
1. Set SMART Goals
The most well-known, and, in my opinion, most effective technique for setting and achieving goals is the SMART goal framework, which is often attributed to the work of management consultant Peter Drucker. “SMART” stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. Put simply, when setting goals, you need to state specifically what you will do, by when, and have a means to verify whether you’ve achieved your objective. Anything less is too ephemeral.
2. Write Down Your Goals
This advice may seem obvious, and you’ve probably heard it before, but it’s so important that it bears repeating. Research shows the simple act of writing down your goals significantly increases your odds of achieving them. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University in California, did a study on goal setting with 267 participants from a wide range of professions and countries. She found that people are 40 percent more likely to achieve their goals when they write them down.
The act of reducing your goals to writing clarifies your intentions and forces you to get loosely held beliefs out of your head and into the world in the form of a clear written plan.
3. Prioritize Processes vs. Outcomes
Outcome goals are the most common type of goals set by lawyers. These goals focus on the desired end result, such as "Bring in 10 new clients this year." While outcome goals provide a clear target to work towards, they have several limitations. First, outcome goals are often influenced by external factors beyond the lawyer's control, such as market conditions or client preferences. Second, focusing solely on outcome goals can lead to a fixation on the end result, rather than the steps needed to achieve it.
A better approach is to think in terms of processes. These goals focus on the daily actions and habits that lead to long-term success. Examples of process goals include "Spend 30 minutes each day reaching out to potential clients" or "Dedicate 2 hours per week to creating valuable content for my target audience." Process goals are entirely within the lawyer's control and provide a clear roadmap for consistent progress.
A recent meta-analysis examining the impact of goal setting on performance provides compelling evidence for the superiority of process goals. The study found that process goals had a large effect on performance, while outcome goals had a negligible effect.
4. Have Fewer Goals
Many lawyers set too many goals, which clouds their focus. Here’s James Clear’s take on this issue: “What often looks like a problem of goal setting is actually a problem of goal selection. What we really need is not bigger goals, but better focus. You need to choose one thing and ruthlessly eliminate everything else. In the words of Seth Godin, ‘You don’t need more time, you just need to decide.’”
How to Achieve Your Business Development Goals
You’ve probably heard the old saying that “a goal without a plan is just a wish.” I agree with this, but would amend it to say that a plan and subsequent action is what’s required. By setting process goals, you have the foundation for your plan ("Spend 30 minutes each day reaching out to potential clients" or "Dedicate 2 hours per week to creating valuable content for my target audience"). But you also need to allocate time necessary to take action on the plan.
This is where Charlie Munger’s advice to “sell yourself time” every day comes into play. Block time on your calendar for business development every week. Treat these time blocks as meetings with your most important client—yourself. Be focused and productive during this time. You need to have systems like this in place to achieve your goals. As James Clear advises, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
Jay Harrington is president of our agency, a published author, and nationally-recognized expert in thought-leadership marketing.
From strategic planning to writing, podcasting, video marketing, and design, Jay and his team help lawyers and law firms turn expertise into thought leadership, and thought leadership into new business. Get in touch to learn more about the consulting and coaching services we provide. You can reach Jay at jay@hcommunications.biz.