What Is Honesty?

Is any human being ever completely honest? Is it within human capability to be 'completely honest'? That is, to leave nothing out, and add nothing in?

The lie is an attempt to create an advantage for oneself in the world. We lie actively by communicating that we possess something that the other wants, or don't possess something the other is looking for, when in fact we do.

We lie to get: power, money, sex, the admiration of others (power). Anything else? Oh, yes: to avoid consequences of wrongdoing. Anything else?

And we lie because we think we HAVE to have whatever it is we want, or because we don't think we can withstand the consequences of our wrongdoing, and because we think that lying is the only way to get what we want or don't want.

It is also worth noting that lying seems to be a developmental stage through which we all must pass-- the most chronic and seemingly pathological liars are children. They will lie when they don't have to, or for the fun of it, or in order to get something they covet, or to cover their tracks. From this we can learn that there is something immature about the impulse to lie, and that there is something about honesty that is learned. Or, perhaps, earned.

Honesty in its original usage meant to speak honorably. The honorable person is one who readily accepts the consequences of his actions, whether they are desirable or problematic, he does not shirk the outcome.

Why this investigation of honor and honesty here? Because as service providers, we are all playing a confidence game- that is, we are gaining the confidence of potential clients in order to sell them our services. Our product is intangible- confidence and service. The same as the 'con man'. We walk in a gray zone where the customer buys because he has placed his confidence in us. And of course what separates the professional service provider from the 'con man' is that he provides what he has promised for a fee disclosed at the beginning of the relationship.

This places some providers in a position to think that because they have gained the client's confidence, they can sell them anything, or shoddy service. The lawyer who claims to have taken action on a cause when he hasn't, the physician who prescribes a procedure that is not necessary, the financial adviser who churns the account, etc.

Most notable about issues with honesty in professional practice is that there is no surer way to terminate a career prematurely than by practicing in a less than honorable way.

In honorable practice, there is no trace left behind one's actions, nothing that can be used against the provider after the fact. While those who commit wrongdoing have left at the scene a weapon that can and will be used against them when the time comes, and they will have to face, dishonorably, the consequences of their actions.

The Daily Practice of Business Development

Every piece of news I see from the world of law practice seems to be bad news-- no one needs to be reminded of this. It can be discouraging, and create a sense of hopelessness. There is no denying these natural human reactions to an avalanche of bad news. Despair can lead to paralysis, depression, and increased reliance on artificial methods of feeling good.

Lawyers are workhorses, and nothing satisfies them as much as a good day's work. A good day's work is a great defense against the fear that lays in wait for every professional service provider, self employed or working in a firm. But, face it, everyone is self-employed nowadays, no matter how big the firm.

So, what work is to be done when there seems to be none to do? Whoever guessed 'business development' gets the gold star. There can be no better time than the present to devote oneself to the job of increasing your business network. It still surprises me to see how few lawyers are regularly involved in practice development. It is crucial to remember that law practice depends entirely on relationships, and the time and attention you give to building them pays off directly in the amount of work you do.

In this period of slack, you can put in your day's work enhancing and building your business relationships, reviewing your existing clients needs, and studying how service delivery to those clients can be expanded. It's not nuclear physics- going from doing nothing to doing something will yield big rewards over time.

I feel that far too often, professionals in service industry think too big when considering how to get started with business development. Remember, we are talking BD, not marketing. Marketing has to do with creating an image, sending out a signal to the world that conveys that image, draws attention to the image and creates interest in that image. However, the image and the interest it creates is useless unless the marketplace (potential clients) is able to connect a person with that image- potential clients want a name and a face.

And that is where business development begins- putting your name and face with the 'brand'. It is not necessary to think in terms of making yourself a 'rainmaker' overnight, or ever. It is necessary, though, to understand who your clients are, and who referred them. It is necessary to pick up the phone and call those people, or email and follow up with a phone call. It is important that you inform those clients of your latest research in areas of importance to them. It is important that you ask those people to help you locate others whom you HAVE NOT MET so you can arrange meetings with them. It is important that you do this regularly, day in and day out, week in and week out, monthly, yearly.

When committed to as a daily practice, you will soon begin to see a direct connection between those activities and the amount and kind of business you are doing. The mere fact of making commitment, and setting your mind to the task itself seems to send a message out to the universe that you are now ready to work, and sure enough the work starts to show up.