I've recently become a fan of Harry Beckwith, author of Selling the Invisible and What Clients Love, among others. His books are practical and easy to read. Selling the Invisible is all about selling services - which is exactly what lawyers do. As I was reading, one of the things that struck me in the section on planning was his comment about "perfect" planning. I think it's appropriate since December has arrived and many of you are probably looking ahead to 2009 and your plans for the new year.
In my consulting practice, I've worked with many lawyers who fall victim to what I call 'analysis paralysis' and the perfectionism that often accompanies it. Those two elements are responsible for stalling many a lawyer or law firm and preventing them from progressing in their practice.
As Beckwith says, services providers can become paralyzed by their desire for excellence. Lawyers are the perfect example. Beckwith suggests ranking plans as follows:
1. Very good
2. Good
3. Best
4. Not good
5. Truly god-awful
Why? Because getting to best usually gets complicated. There are too many different definitions of best, and it takes too long to come to an agreement on best - not to mention that actually achieving it once you agree on what it is becomes a problem in itself and often requires sacrifices in other areas that you might not be prepared to make.
As Beckwith says, "Don't let perfect ruin good."
Is your perfectionism stopping you from moving ahead on your plans?
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