Some of the lawyers who worked for me and some of the lawyers I have coached are motivated to become successful at client development. If you are are a regular reader, I feel certain you are motivated also.

I am motivated to work out. I am motivated to learn French and Spanish. I have very good answers to why I want to work out and why I want to learn French and Spanish. Clearly, my motivation is not enough. Even writing down goals is not enough. I wrote about this in January in a post: One Sure Way to Not Achieve Your Goals: Set Goals without Action Plans

But, even creating action plans may not be enough. Recently I read Peter Bregman‘s blog: Your Problem isn’t Motivation. I felt like I gained a great understanding when I read this:

Motivation is in the mind; follow-through is in the practice. Motivation is conceptual; follow-through is practical. In fact, the solution to a motivation problem is the exact opposite of the solution to a follow through problem. The mind is essential to motivation. But with follow through, it’s the mind that gets in the way.

At the end of Peter Bregman’s post he provides a list of what to do to follow through. His list is focused on working out. Take his list and apply it to client development. Share with me what you can do to follow through on your client development goals.

As you will see on Peter’s blog, he is the author of 18 Minutes. If you get a chance to read the book share how you are implementing the ideas to better manage your time.

One final note: Today at noon CDT I am doing a webinar for law firm associates on client development. If you are an associate and you want practical tips on what you can do now that will attract, retain and expand relationships with clients in the future, contact jflo@cordellparvin.com first thing this morning to learn more about the program.