Perfection is the affliction that most lawyers have. I see it as the good news and the bad news. It can make you great lawyers, but it can also stop your progress in business development. When you are building a book of business it matters more that you are REAL and you make progress, than that you are perfect. I know lawyers find this VERY hard to embrace. I’m not talking about accepting mediocrity… a diamond with a few flaws not visible with the naked eye is acceptable… because the diamond is none the less beautiful. Seth Godin says it so brilliantly…

Effortless. When John Coltrane plays the melody early in the track Harmonique, you can hear some of the notes crack. Of course, Coltrane was completely capable of playing these notes correctly. And yet he didn’t. It’s this effort and humanity that touches us about his solo, not just the melody.

Sometimes, ‘never let them see you sweat,’ is truly bad advice. The work of an individual who cares often exposes the grit and determination and effort that it takes to be present.

Perfecting your talk, refining your essay and polishing your service until all elements of you disappear might be obvious tactics, but they remove the thing we were looking for: you.

Yes… YOU! Let YOU come shining through to make it REAL.