When I coach attorneys in an effort to help them get over the mental hurdles blocking them from building a book of business, I start by asking a seemingly simple question: What do you want?
After an inevitable pause, I’ll typically receive answers such as “I want more clients,” “I want to make partner,” or “I want to become more productive.” Their answers suggest that they have some sort of vision in mind for the future—before the coaching process had even begun—yet they’re stuck in neutral, unable to make progress.
When we want something, we all start with good intentions. But good intentions, alone, never result in lasting change or positive results. When we fail to make progress it’s not because our intentions were flawed. It’s because we never made the move from intention to action.
Be honest with yourself. Is there anything you’ve undertaken in your life where you’ve utterly failed despite putting in your best effort? You may not have achieved the full extent of what you were hoping for, but I’d be willing to bet that even if you didn’t get 100 percent of the way there, there were still some positive takeaways from the experience.
Perhaps you studied like crazy for the LSAT in hopes of getting into a top 10 law school. You may not have achieved your objective, but you’re probably doing just fine with your top 30 law school degree, and have come to realize a few years into the practice of law that where you got your degree doesn’t matter all that much anyway. For those who didn’t study but still had Ivy League ambitions? You can testify to how far good intentions will get you.
The point is desire must turn into doing if you want to make progress. First, however, you must determine what all that doing is going to be about. If you don’t make a commitment to yourself to shift from vision to action—then you’ll likely stay put in your circumstances. At best you’ll thrash about, bouncing from one idea to another, constantly in motion but not moving in any particular direction.
Many use the terms “vision” and “goal” interchangeably, but they’re not the same thing. A vision (building a book of business) is the destination you want to reach, but the path is unknown. Goals allow you to set the path for the achievement of your vision, and they serve as milestones along the way. A vision is the end. Goals are the means.
Setting a goal that is ambitious, specific, and measurable allows you to both confirm your intentions and begin taking steps—in the right direction—toward transformational change. Goal setting is not an exercise to be taken lightly. The stakes are too high to regard your professional goals the way you might a New Year’s resolution, which most treast as negotiable and easily discarded without consequence. An effective goal is not merely an intention, but rather a commitment to uncompromisingly pursue your most desired professional outcome.
So, what do you want?
Do you want to make partner?
Do you want more clients?
Do you want to make more money?
Do you want more autonomy?
Do you want to do more interesting work?
Do you want more flexibility and balance in your life?
Those are all worthy desires. But they’ll remain just that—desires—unless defined more specifically as goals.
Indeed, a goal serves as the precursor to a plan. While it’s not always easy to settle upon a goal—after all, many of us struggle to determine what we want out way out in the future—harder still is determining how we’ll get from Point A (where we are) to Point B (where we want to go). Perhaps hardest of all is taking the first step forward. The secret to getting ahead? In almost all cases, it’s simply getting started.
Looking for more? Check out these related resources:
The Essential Associate 90-Day Training Program
When it Comes to Business Development, Focus on the Process not the Result
Fear and Failure are Precursors to Confidence and Success in the Practice of Law
Jay Harrington is an executive coach who blends strategic consulting and problem-solving counseling to help lawyers set and reach their business objectives.
If you’re a lawyer interested in unlocking your potential and increasing your performance, contact me to schedule a free consultation. Through a process of coaching and consulting, I will help you to establish clear goals, identify and overcome obstacles, create and execute a strategic plan of action.