Getting Beyond Need To, Got To, Have To Do Client Development

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers Getting beyond “need to, got to, have to” do client development Over the years I have worked with and coached many lawyers who at one time or another told me: I heard this so frequently that I posted a blog:  If you need to, got to or have to-You won’t. If you feel this way about client development, how can you get beyond it? A few years ago, I read a blog titled:  MOTIVATION: From Discipline to Mastery In Training, In Life  by Shawn Phillips. The blog was about fitness training and life, but the points also apply to client development. I urge you to read the blog and pay attention to the four stages of motivation and see how you can use those stages to get beyond, “need to, got to, have to” do client development. Shawn’s description of the last stage: Mastery, includes this statement: Mastery of training frees you from struggling to “get your workout in.” You train because that’s how you approach life. That description reminds me of what John, a lawyer I coached, said to me in our second coaching session. Cordell, I think I’ve figured out what you are trying to get us to accomplish. You do not want us to go on a “crash diet” of client development activities. Instead, you want us to make lifestyle changes so that client development is part of our every day life. John really got it. When client development is part of how you approach practicing law, you will have mastered it.   I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.