Life, many say, is a compromise. It feels that way sometimes with all of the things I must "have patience" to endure. Working as a law firm marketer for many feels this way much of the time -- I want to make a stand on something I feel is important but in the final measure think it wise to let it go.While some of this type of thinking is quite OK, a marketer does need to make a stand from time to time. One, because they DO know the right path, and two, because if we do not believe in ourselves how can we expect that others will. Here are a few things that I consider worth standing for:
- The brand of your firm - Someone HAS to be "the firm" as if the "firm" had a human voice. If you have done your groundwork and created a brand that absolutely represents the firm as a whole you need to be ready to stand up to its parts. You see... the brand of a firm is not perfect for everyone -- it is perfect for all. Understand this and you'll have the right armor to defend it.
- The growth of your people - Being a mentor/boss requires absolute loyalty when they have earned nothing less. People grow because they feel safe to make choices (even poor choices).
- Relationships mean more than qualifications - Too many times I've been asked to expend extraordinary effort to create a proposal when the principles involved had literally done nothing to know the people they were proposing to. The most successful attorney I have ever known would admit he was at best an "average" attorney. But he was really good at creating great relationships before he ever asked for the work.
- Truth matters more than emotion - I have heard incredibly passionate arguments for doing the wrong thing... just as I have heard passion for doing right. Be always ready to stand for truth. As marketers the truth may be in approach, proposal, relations, or message. What matters to me is that I stand for knowing what is true and acting on that knowledge.
