The vast majority of lawyers who manage their law firm, whether it be only a few lawyers or the gigantic many hundreds of lawyers firm ("BigLaw"), still bill many hours and don’t get paid for also taking on the role of "managing partner." (more…)
The president of Whole Foods recently revealed that he blogs! Not only does he blog with attribution to himself as CEO of his company, he also blogs under a pseudonym. Under the pseudonym, he failed to disclose his position; he used this blog to make false assertions about the financial condition of a primary competitor, Wild Oats Markets. (more…)
Lesson learned:
1. People do business with people they like.
2. Bonds are created among people with like interests.
3. Loyalty develops from the bonds among people.
4. Geography, in today’s era of high technology, is no longer a delimiting factor in relationships or in business.
5. Client retention depends on loyalty, not just meeting expectations.
Last Friday, I had the great pleasure of riding my bike, with a friend, up Bear Mountain, a legendary cycling route in this part of the country. I’m here to see my son’s new child, a strapping 8# boy, Mitchell Gibson Poll, my 11th grandchild!
The weather was great, neither too humid nor too hot. Riding with a better rider than I and one who knows the area well was a treat as I didn’t have to worry about what was beyond the next bend in the road or how to get back to our car at the end of the ride. We covered about 41 miles in 3:30 hours; the last descent was like icing on cake and the last ascent was like "just too much!" 🙂
On the way up Bear Mountain, we heard cannon from across the Hudson River and saw billowing smoke over the hills. Later, I concluded that the cadets were practicing for July 4th celebrations.
"Whatever you do for a living, never forget that you are always in a relationship business. Those darn customers might cause you headaches from time to time, but you ain’t got nuthin’ without them. Work to build stronger relationships with your customers every day. Work to add more value every day to your customers. Think both in terms of the big picture and the smallest details. Think both in terms of the quality of your products and service and in terms of how the person feels when they are interacting with you. If you make a mistake, admit it and truly make up for it. If you can do something extra for a customer that would really make a difference, do it."
These are the words (emphasis is mine) of Dan Coughlin, in his Business Acceleration Newsletter this month. He cites specific examples of what to do and what not to do in building customers relationships.
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On June 18th, only 8 days ago, Mitchell Gibson Poll entered the world, a strapping 8# baby boy! He joins the "cousins club" of 10 other grandchildren and I’m looking forward to meeting him.
I’m leaving on Thursday for New York, taking my bike with me, and will introduce myself to him. It’s marvelous when new life begins … and, because of him and his sister, I expect to become more familiar with Westchester County and New York City …
I’ll be out of the office for two weeks, but with this marvelous (depending on your point of view 🙂 ) thing called technology, I’ll be in touch … May even write a few more blog notes now that the book is out of my hands! 🙂
Happy and safe July 4th to all.
Ed
We’re at the printer! Our book, Disaster Preparedness & Recovery Planning for Law Firms, will be released and ready for shipment by the middle of July!
The book has received great acclaim from those who’ve seen the Advanced Readers Copy (what used to be call the "blueline").
There are only a few days left to take advantage of our pre-publication price … ends June 30th.
Bless Your Stress: It Means You’re Still Alive! Written by Ed’s guest, Mimi Donaldson, and Leslie Charles. Most of us are concerned by the high stress of our lives, but Mimi suggests that our stress comes from within. While an outside events may be provocation, it is our attitudes toward the outside events that create our stress. She points out that the same event can cause severe reactions from one person with none or little reaction from another. And, it’s the "pause" button in our brain that allows us to handle the stress in a more reasoned way. Listen to the author who says it’s better to think like a winner than a whiner!
20 minutes, 39 seconds
4.8MB
In 2004, the California Supreme Court in Fletcher v Davis said that a lien by an attorney on a fund or judgment the lawyer receives to ensure compensation of an hourly fee engagement is enforceable. (more…)
On this date, my daughter-in-law gave birth to a strapping 8 pound baby boy! Enough said — naturally I’m very proud and happy that mother, son … son are doing well.