• 51 Weeks of Pace: Question the rules!
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    You must have seen the story about the nurse who would not administer CPR to the dying woman last week. Maybe you heard the 911 call recording. Excruciating. If the 911 operator could have reached through the phone to give aid, she clearly would have. The person making the 911 call, the nurse- did not. She cited policy. It was against policy to provide CPR. The woman died. Otherwise, none of us might have heard the story.

    Are you thinking you’d never go along with a rule that kept you from doing what you knew to be right? Never just accept something as a rule or guideline, if it made no sense to you? We do it all the time. The consequences aren’t as immediately obvious or clearly lethal as in the CPR example, that’s what makes it difficult to track.

    The rules I’m talking about are things like: 

    • I must be available to my clients at all times….even if they would be just as happy knowing I’ll get back to them in a specific time period.
    • I have to do everything myself…even if it means I have to work all the time.
    • “Good enough” is a terrible standard…even if it means the work is done sooner and the client thinks it’s perfect as it is.
    • My clients want to talk to me…even though their main priority is to have their question answered as soon as possible, whether it’s you or an assistant or associate who does so.
    • Client work takes precedence over marketing, billing, or other firm tasks…even if the deadlines and expectations would allow you to work on your firm during work hours.
    • If I can’t commit to working out for an hour four times a week I might as well not even start…even though twenty minutes whenever you can would be better than nothing at all. 

    What does this have to do with pace? Everything. The notion of pace is that you need to keep your pace, and improve it when you can, in order to reach your goals. It’s about consistency and persistence. If your pace is hampered by rules or beliefs that aren’t true, if you’re allowing yourself to maintain it when you could stretch and improve your pace- then you’re not going to create the results you want. So, when you come across a constraint that just doesn’t make sense in the real world, question it.

    Break the rules that need breaking. The life you save might just be your own!

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    Would this email response message “save” your day?
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    Recently, I was delighted to receive this email autoresponder: 

    Thank you! Your email is received, and I will reply within the next 24 hours.

    I’ve found that I serve my clients better when I can check email once a day, so I appreciate your patience while I devote my full attention to one client at a time.

    Of course, if this is an urgent matter, please call my office at [nnn-nnn-nnnn]. I will return your call promptly. 

    I’ve changed it a bit and I’d add a thank you- but you get the idea. If you can’t handle the thought of checking email once- then make it twice. Block time on your calendar, too- or you won’t be much better off than if you let your email interrupt you all day long.

    Be brave- try it! Let me know what happens. Bet the good outweighs the bad. 

    Oh no. No I couldn’t? Could I?
    YES. YES you can.

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    51 Weeks of Pace: Get Out of Your Head!
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    You won’t travel far if you’re stuck in your head. This is a JOURNEY you’re on! Pace is key. You have clients to serve, life to live, lots to learn and to do. When you change your pace, do it intentionally- as a break, a vacation, a celebration. Squelch all urges to rethink, second guess, regret, wish this, if only that, and especially, fear and resist. That’s the whole lizard brain story, and we know you don’t want to listen to a lizard in your head. 

    Action starts with your thoughts. The thoughts are part of the process, but make sure they lead to and support action. It all fits with Successfully Solo’s main concept: do more of what matters and nothing that doesn’t.

    Get out of your head. Breathe. Keep the pace you choose, the one that takes you on the adventure of your own design.  Life is short. It’s is happening right now, all around you. Be in the moment. Not in your head.

     What could you do if you stopped worrying and trusted your judgement, and moved forward faster?

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    51 Weeks of Pace: Fail Faster!
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    Time waits for no one. So, wherever you can crash the schedule, get things done sooner, with less elapsed time- you free time up. It’s that simple. It pays to fail fast.

    You know I’m all about measuring what matters. It’s a fact, you will fail. (Or you’ll be doing nothing, in which case you have all the time you need.) So catch it as early as you can. See what is working, determine success or failure and then take action. Learn. Add/change/delete. 

    Your pace will be impacted by your failures, just as it is by your successes. Cut the cycle time from trial to success or trial to failure, and you’ll get more benefit from the successes and less drag from the failures. 

    Not getting it? Think about athletes- you’ve seen world champions fall or stumble, whether it’s in practices or while competing. The pros absorb it and recover so fast that it seems impossible. That’s what I want for you.

    Again- if you are successful, you will have failures. They’re a good thing because it means you’re trying to be more successful. Celebrate failures. But make sure you fail as fast as you can!

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    If You Build It, Don’t Blow It! Facebook Follies.
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    A long while ago, in a distant galaxy- I shared a very creative, effective video and a lawyer’s page with my friends on Facebook. The material resonated with me. Not just valuable information, it was very direct and genuine and I felt a “kinship” of sorts with the author. I thought it was a great example of how social media could be used to build relationships. I couldn’t even tell you how I came across the video, but I was ready to be a fan, promoting it to my contacts.

    I sent a private message to the lawyer as well, with kudos and a question. I was sure I was starting a relationship with someone who would be a worthwhile and interesting connection at the same time I could bring him some attention. In fact, the page got several “likes” and at least one more share and comment originating from my post.

    What happened? Absolutely nothing. No response. No answer. I was disappointed and then I felt duped.

    My conclusion? Someone else is posting to the page. The lawyer himself isn’t monitoring the page. It’s a pure marketing play. A bad one. It’s the classic “standing on the corner with a megaphone” situation. What a waste. I would have been fine with a short acknowledgement, and truthfully- I’d be fine if someone had authored it for him. I respect time management; leverage where you can.

    If you use social media, make it social. If people want to interact with you- hallelujah! That’s marketing gold. Pay attention. Otherwise you aren’t just losing the opportunity for a positive impact, you’re passively creating a negative one. From delighted to duped, in about a week. He had my trust, based on a terrific video that really appealed- and then he lost it. I suppose I’m not the most powerful influencer, but you never know, someone I know might have become his client or recommended his product offerings.

    Don’t let it happen to you. If you build it- don’t blow it. 

    [And did you know you can interact with me on Successfully Solo's page? Please do! I'm around nearly daily- unless it's the weekends, when the world beyond "i-this-n-that" calls!]

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