Is that criticism necessary?

Having dinner last night in a restaurant, on my way to the ladies room, I heard the manager criticize one of the waiters (obviously oblivious to me being behind them). The criticism was anything but beneficial, and, in fact, was just de-motivating, and only served to make the waiter angry.

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What makes a successful lawyer?

This past Saturday I presented at the Law Society’s Annual Conference. Before beginning my talk, I asked the group of 150 plus lawyers, what skills or attributes they thought would make a successful lawyer. Here’s their list (in order of importance):

• Intellect

• Communication skills

• Organisation

• Interpersonal skills

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Don’t make resolutions, set (written) goals

This is the period when most people begin thinking about New Year's resolutions. But rather than approaching your 2010 aspirations as traditionally ineffective (and probably short-term) resolutions, how about setting a firm goal of what you want to achieve, and then implementing a strategy for reaching it?

Goals can be set on a number of different levels:

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Use every communication to demonstrate your professional brand

As lawyers we communicate in a wide range of circumstances and with any number of methods. The thing to remember is that every single communication - answering the telephone, leaving a voicemail, or sending an email - conveys your brand. At the risk of stating the obvious, let me remind you of some simple truths.

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Make your holiday card personal

It’s that time of year when your personal assistant inevitably sets that stack of holiday cards on your desk to be signed. If, like most people, you merely sigh and scrawl your signature into each, then you’ve lost a big chance: the chance to make a personal contact with your clients. Take the effort to scribble a brief personal message to the recipient. I promise that it will make both you and the card memorable - and set you apart from the rest!

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