If you’re like most attorneys, you’ve attended your fair share of seminars. Not just CLE seminars, but seminars on Practice Management, too. You may have even read a book or two on time management or client development. You probably have a pretty good idea of what you’re supposed to do to better manage your time or attract good clients. Heck, as the saying goes, it’s not rocket science. You know what you need to do. You just don’t do it. And you are not alone.
So, why don’t we do what we say we want to do? Why don’t we take the actions we say we want to take?
In his book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, executive coach Marshall Goldsmith explains that in is thirty years of coaching fortune 500 executives he has learned one very powerful lesson: “There is an enormous disconnect between understanding and doing. . . . Most of us understand, we just don’t do.”
Having all the information in the world on a topic doesn’t mean that we’ll act on it. According to Goldsmith, people don’t change or improve without follow-up. See if this is not true in your own life. Have you ever started an exercise program only to drift away from it after a few days or a few weeks? Have you ever promised yourself you’d start eating better . . . tomorrow? Follow-up is the key. So whether you’re goal is to change your diet or your practice, find someone to be your coach, your accountability partner. And then, just do it.