A nudge from Chris Corrigan reminded me that Mark Wood has been producing the wonderful ::: wood s lot ::: for ten years. Seems like yesterday that this all started!

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But a lot of it is happening outside

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Yesterday evening in the company of a few people (who hold opinions I respect greatly), I asked a truly ho-hum topical question, “So, does the COP15 lot have the climate science thing settled – are they in posession of the truth, are they working with the unreasonable openness and candour that is the hallmark of truth?”. I asked this knowing full well, I would probably recieve a lot of opinion (because the science bit seems to be worded in such obtuse terms that very few understand it – by ‘it’, I mean the scientific peer reviewed facts (i.e. the truth)’).   In a way that is uncustomary for me, I decided to shut up and listen. Here’s what was said . . . .

Everyone – bar none, seemed to conclude along the lines of the following statement, or words to the effect :- “one of the biggest frustrations we have is that there seems to be a distinct lack of emphasis and motivation toward telling the public (and business) the whole truth on climate change”,  followed by – “the biggest frustration we have today posing as truth and information is a constant stream of ‘balanced’ rhetoric. What the world needs today is truth around climate change, . . . .  truth not balance.”

Most people agreed that the distorted need to ‘balance’ the truth is by far the biggest hurdle in understanding the issues. Fox News owns the ‘fair and balanced’ term, even the BBC news site abounds with a nonsensical ‘balance’ where we are constantly expected to side with the skeptic or the counter – how is one ever to know what is the truth – see here  http://bit.ly/6cGtTL
Until we have the truth, the unplugged, unmitigated and wholly unreasonable truth I suppose we’ll never agree about what true trouble is and what to do about it.

I suppose that poses another query,  “Does balancing the truth lead to a pack of lies, and how can we tell?”

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I’ve been doing a lot of speaking and coaching lately on business development, and someone asked a great question: what are the top obstacles to rainmaking success?

I’ve identified three universal challenges. Do any of these sound uncomfortably familiar to you?

1. “I don’t know what to do.” There’s so much information out there about how to bring in new cases and clients and, even more importantly, how to ensure that your current clients are satisfied – no, delighted – with the service you provide. Sometimes, having lots of good information is overwhelming. When I work with someone on rainmaking, one of the first things we focus on (after clearly identifying the goal at hand) is to simplify tasks, according to a targeted plan. Don’t flail around and try “the latest thing.” Figure out what works well for you and do it consistently.

2. Mindset challenges. The challenges that we create up for ourselves (and please note that I am including myself here!) vary dramatically. I’ve heard all of the following:

• Rainmaking is easier for them (men, women, lawyers in big firms, lawyers in small firms, litigators, transactional lawyers, and on and on and on).
• Everything I do has to be perfect, and I’m busy getting ready to get out there. (This crops up a lot with lawyers who see speaking, writing, and holding leadership positions in an organization as a good route for business development.)
• I have to do it all myself, so I’m going to clear the decks and then get started.
• I’m too young.
• I’m too old.
• I tried [insert an activity here] and it didn’t work, so why should I bother?
• My technical skills are so good, I don’t need to market.

There may be at least a grain of truth to each of these rationalizations (and the infinite variations that exist), but buying into these statements is a huge red flag. These “reasons” justify a lack of success and perhaps even a lack of effort. Neither leads to great results.

3. “I don’t have enough time to get my work done and live, and now I should add on business development activities? You’ve got to be kidding me.” This obstacle is the most valid and therefore the most insidious. It also plays into the mindset obstacles, because very often a lawyer who holds a negative belief about client development will sink more and more time into fruitless rainmaking activity. Imagine, for instance, a lawyer who polishes an article to the point of “perfection,” only to find that it’s no longer newsworthy. Fortunately, you can implement three steps to create time for business development: prioritization, systemization, and delegation.

What blocks your rainmaking efforts?

Author: Julie A. Fleming
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: WordPress plugin Guest Blogger

Yesterday evening in the company of a few people (who hold opinions I respect greatly), I asked a truly ho-hum topical question, “So, does the COP15 lot have the climate science thing settled – are they in posession of the truth, are they working with the unreasonable openness and candour that is the hallmark of truth?”. I asked this knowing full well, I would probably recieve a lot of opinion (because the science bit seems to be worded in such obtuse terms that very few understand it – by ‘it’, I mean the scientific peer reviewed facts (i.e. the truth)’).   In a way that is uncustomary for me, I decided to shut up and listen. Here’s what was said . . . .

Everyone – bar none, seemed to conclude along the lines of the following statement, or words to the effect :- “one of the biggest frustrations we have is that there seems to be a distinct lack of emphasis and motivation toward telling the public (and business) the whole truth on climate change”,  followed by – “the biggest frustration we have today posing as truth and information is a constant stream of ‘balanced’ rhetoric. What the world needs today is truth around climate change, . . . .  truth not balance.”

Most people agreed that the distorted need to ‘balance’ the truth is by far the biggest hurdle in understanding the issues. Fox News owns the ‘fair and balanced’ term, even the BBC news site abounds with a nonsensical ‘balance’ where we are constantly expected to side with the skeptic or the counter – how is one ever to know what is the truth – see here  http://bit.ly/6cGtTL
Until we have the truth, the unplugged, unmitigated and wholly unreasonable truth I suppose we’ll never agree about what true trouble is and what to do about it.

I suppose that poses another query,  “Does balancing the truth lead to a pack of lies, and how can we tell?”

View Rainmakers Bio »
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