I came across Diane Feinstein’s request that we all send Postcards to the White House on March 15, 2017. SO LET’S DO IT!
The site with the instructions is http://www.oneequalworld.com/2017/02/08/theidesoftrump-postcards/ That explains the idea behind this campaign. If the link doesn’t work, cut and paste it. If that doesn’t work, go into http://www.oneequalworld.com. If that doesn’t work just send a postcard with a message on the back on March 15 to:
President (for now)Trump, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20500.
I would also suggest getting a bunch of postcards at the post office to be able to send one or more at a moment’s notice. You might say that this won’t make any changes but if we can keep it up on a consistent basis and also keep bugging our own representatives, it couldn’t hurt!
Resisting will get to be tiring and this is where grit come in. We will march, we will write, we will call and we will never give up.
I was just involved with the ABA GP Solo Magazine for May/June 2018 issue entitled : Civil Disobedience. Not sure exactly how that is going to fit into this revolt but am willing to be open to it. Just have to be careful not to do anything unethical. I understand their are ways to do that. Will keep you posted as I find out more.
THIS IS FOR OUR CHILDREN, OUR ENVIRONMENT AND OUR AMERICA.
This week check out John Cassidy’s New Yorker’s blog above. If you marched you can check off as one of the nine ways to oppose. If you went to the airport to protest the immigration ban on Muslims, you can check another off.
Now pick one or two suggestions that Cassidy gives you and JUST DO IT.
Perhaps you can pick one option which will take money or time. Also pick a real easy option. This might be buying a resist T Shirt and wearing it openly. One of the hardest options might be to pick out a neighbor, friend or even family that voted for Trump and send them a T Shirt that just says something about how great America is now!
There has been a lot of pussy footing (sorry about that) around while not trying to insult a friend, family or colleague. But there are ways of making sure of exactly where you stand without insulting them. Sending them literature on only one subject with facts substantiated by experts (like climate control) and add that people who voted for Trump don’t need to accept all of his ideas! Materials by McCain or other republicans about resisting Torture is another area that you could perhaps make inroads into their listening to you.
If you don’t care about insulting them then one of the greatest ideas I heard of was to donate to the ACLU in their name. They will receive a thank you card from the ACLU. Realize this will probably terminate any relationship you have with them and you will have to take that responsibility.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. REMEMBER:
THE ONLY THING NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS FOR GOOD PEOPLE TO DO NOTHING!”
As the year comes to an end, you know I like to give advice about how to handle the new year. Well, this year is no different. Both you and your clients have had some real difficult times and some very unique challenges this past year. Between the stock market behavior , job problems and the election debacle, doom and gloom has run rampant. Many lawyers have suffered significant disruption of their businesses as clients and employers try to keep their heads above water.
Now, some of the experts tell us that the recession has turned around. Other experts tell us that there is more disruption to come as the government goes crazy.Whatever happens, guess what? WE STILL ALL HAVE THAT PIECE OF PAPER THAT SAYS WE ARE LAWYERS! Most people in the world don’t have that piece of paper. We have infinite possibilities to use that piece of paper to not only provide us with a living but to give us job satisfaction as well.
In line with that thinking, for many of you it may well be time to review your work situation and make decisions about how you might want to change your practice in the coming year. Take a minute and do a quite survey about your present career situation by answering the following questions:
Am I making enough money to cover my business and personal expenses?
Am I making enough money to fund my retirement account each month?
Do I like to go to work each day?
Do I like the people I work with?
Do I like most all of my clients?
Can I get my work done in 40-50 hours a week?
Do I have enough time for my family each day?
Do I exercise enough?
Am I eating a healthy diet?
Am I taking enough classes to keep up to date in my practice areas?
Do I often feel lonely?
Do I have mentors?
Do I play and have fun on a regular basis?
OK, OK, you get the idea. If you answered NO to a lot of these questions, then you need to start on your New Year’s resolutions early. Think of change ( which is scary) as MORPHING. Morph yourself into a more fulfilling career.
How do you do this? Look at the “nos” above. Now decide one thing you could do today to start changing that answer to a “yes”. Some people call that shifting your outlook. Yes, it takes work and focus but its certainly better than being whiny ( you know I hate that) and depressed. Call me. I’d love to discuss 2017 with you.
Wishing you all a glorious and prosperous New Year…..
I’M FINALLY COMING OUT OF MY POLITICAL FUNK. HOW ABOUT YOU? OR ARE YOU STILL WITH YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND AND TRYING TO WAIT TO COME OUT UNTIL THINGS GET BETTER?
One of the things that helped me come back to the world of the living was to decide what actions I could take to fight the obvious screwed up thinking of many American voters. I started with a subject that I have written about previously which was Why Do People Choose to Do Things that Injure Themselves? Why would someone not take a life saving drug? Why do people vote for something directly opposed to their self interest?
The drug analogy came from an article that I read and also from my Ophthalmologist who has me on eye drops that slows and maybe even stops Glaucoma if taken every day. Malcom Gladwell wrote about this saying that, as I recall 35% of the people who need this drug, don’t use it every day. It is clear, if you use the drops you won’t get Glaucoma, if you don’t use the drops you will get Glaucoma because it has already been determined that you have the beginning signs of the disease. Blindness is the result. Isn’t that a heck of an analogy to our present situation!
Now we come to why people vote against what would be best for them. The basic answer I believe, is that they do not take the time to be informed about the facts of their decision. I was appalled at the latest news that the internet is allowing “false” news to be broadcast. Unfortunately, both CNN and Fox News were guilty of this. Most people now rely on the internet for their news. They expect the entity publishing the news to have fact checked it. If that were true, how did we get a report that Clintons had a child porno ring at their home? At least this was a news story that people might question. More insidious was the half fact/half truth stories that came out. They sounded real, and lots of Americans bought them.
Also the news media needs to be held accountable for making an obviously unsuitable candidate seem suitable by giving his campaign so much coverage. He didn’t even have to buy ads, because he was getting so much coverage. Also none of the media (except a few) did any fact checking before publishing what they found to be “news”. This was all done in the name of GREED for selling their product.
Bottom line however, as an example, is still why would people vote for closing down immigration and deporting millions and other stupid ideas? Americans all came here first as immigrants. Everyone single American, except the indigenous peoples, can trace their ancestry back to another country. Also, from this kind of legislation comes all sorts of bad laws that will affect our society. China, Japan and India will not be sending their best people for those high level jobs because of the new laws. We will all suffer a “brain drain”. Immigrants who have lived here since they were babies, live in constant fear. Families who have been here for sometimes 30 years, working, paying taxes and contributing to our society, will be separated and sent back to a country they escaped from and found a better life. Again, don’t be stupid, these people will find a way to come back to their US families, wall or no wall. If Americans were more informed about our present immigration laws, they would know that it is arduous to obtain a green card and certainly, if a immigrant commits a crime they are sent back to their country already! You can fact check this or take my word as a former immigration attorney….I insist you fact check!
So my job now is to stand up as soon as I see our beautiful Constitution being threatened and to hopefully find a way to harass the internet to be a strong proponent for the truth. I will keep you posted as I find out the most effective ways to do this.
THANKS FOR LETTING ME RANT……I FEEL BETTER ALREADY.
Sorry, I couldn’t even POST last week. My nature is not be depressed or numb but that is what I still am.
I am in fear for our country, for our children and grandchildren and for ourselves. I know I will find a way to fight aggressively against the prejudice and craziness but it will take some time.
If I can find a way to join those who are willing to advocate strongly against any abridgment of our civil and moral rights, I will. I will keep you posted so you can join the struggle.
Last week we went over some ideas in how to figure out who your target market(s) is.
THIS WEEK, WE ARE GOING TO FIND OUT HOW TO CONNECT AND ALLOW THOSE TMs TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM.
There are a few rules that should be discussed before we begin:
Always identify what your main TM’s needs are before you start.
Be sure to get as much information as set out last week, about your TM before starting.
Identify any person or entity that your TM might go for legal advice or referral.
Designate these “gatekeepers” as a new TMs and devise a strategy to contact them in the same way you are doing for other TMs.
Widdle down your TM’s description to the specifics. Don’t worry about excluding anyone at this point.(for example- “People who don’t have a will or have an outdated one” TO “Parents who don’t have a will or have an outdated one” TO ” Parents who own their home and don’t have a will or have an outdated one.)
Ask yourself: What could I give to this TM that he/she can’t get anywhere else. (here it can be personal service like coming to their home or with the above example, it might be expert tax and wealth saving information).
Be creative. Think Outside the Box.
Decide what tangible small value you can give to your TM right away. (example: A planning booklet to keep all the necessary probate information in and to let their heirs know what’s available).
NEXT MAJOR PLANNING ITEM FOR YOUR MARKETING PLAN IS TO DETERMINE YOUR BRAND.
How are you going to brand yourself????? As an expert? As an experienced attorney who can save time and money? As a parent and care giver yourself who understands the needs of his/her client?
Whatever your BRAND may be, it should reflect and answer the needs of your TM. No client wants to hire an attorney who doesn’t know what they need and want. Use stories of past successful results to assure your potential client that you want to take care of his/her problems. You have the knowledge and the expertise to do it!
PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM TRYING TO MAKE MARKETING AS SIMPLE AND DIRECT AS POSSIBLE. AS YOU GO THROUGH THESE EXERCISES YOU SHOULD BE KEEPING THEM SEPARATE FROM YOUR OTHER WORK. BE FOCUSED ON GETTING THAT GPS TO ALL THE CLIENTS YOU WANT. MORE NEXT WEEK……
IT’S THE SAME AS RUNNING A FIRM WITHOUT A MARKETING PLAN.
Last week we talked about target markets and this week we need to see what the next step is to using that identified target market(s). So here we go:
Decide what the exact needs of your target market are.
If having trouble deciding do some interviews and find out.
Prioritize at least 3 Needs.
Taking those Needs, first incorporate them in your Website and Linkedin Accounts.
Now follow up those posts with how you would solve those needs. For instance if one of the needs to get information about a legal question, indicate that you can do that.
Be careful to only indicate how you will go about helping them solve the problem.
Next Steps:
Take the first of your identified target markets(if there is more than one) and decide the following:
Where does your TM go to get advice (internet, friends, other attorneys, etc.)
What does your TM read?
What other interests does your TM have?
What causes your TM stress?
Can you identify which age group most of your TMs fall into?
Is your TM within a certain financial baseline? what?
Where does your TM spent most of his/her time?
Continue to do this and add more questions about the details of your TM until you feel like you really know their needs. Then do this with all your identified TMs.
THIS WILL BE THE BASIS OF YOUR MARKETING PLAN. MUCH MORE TO GO. STAY TUNED FOR NEXT WEEK WHEN WE WILL GO INTO HOW TO ACTUALLY LOCATE YOUR TMs AND HOW TO “TOUCH” THEM!
Resolutions means to have to write big goals down, then split them out into “baby step goals” and then set a deadline for each baby step to end up with the big goal completed.
Isn’t that boring ! No wonder people give up almost immediately.
Behavioral Science tells us that it takes a person (including, believe it or not, lawyers) 23 continuous days of a doing a new action or behavior to have it become a learned habit that will continue. Well, gosh, that’s almost a whole month! Instead of wasting time trying to figure this all out, let’s just decide that we won’t decide anything right now unless it is really, truly important to our well-being. By this, I mean like stopping smoking, taking your medication, bathing regularly, or visiting your family and friends. Losing 25 lbs, exercising daily and finding the solution to World Peace can wait.
Each morning get up and ask yourself: “What is one thing I am going to do today that I don’t want to do? “ What is the one thing I am going to do today that I want to do?” Then do those two things as soon as you can. Now, no fudging. You can’t pick the one thing you want to do is to sleep all day or skip work and go to the beach.
Try this approach. You can even keep a list of resolutions that you may want to work on someday, but not today or tomorrow….Look at the list at the end of the month and see how many you got done without even trying. You might be surprised!
On Wednesday, April 6, 2016 I am presenting an ABA Women Rainmakers Spring 2016 Program titled : DON’T BE AFRAID TO PERSUADE: Using Persuasion to Win at Littler Law Firm in San Jose, California. Here is how to register and be part of a dynamic learning experience. We will also have networking and lunch!
I came across Diane Feinstein’s request that we all send Postcards to the White House on March 15, 2017. SO LET’S DO IT!
I’M NUMB. HOW ABOUT YOU?
IT’S THE SAME AS RUNNING A FIRM WITHOUT A MARKETING PLAN.
On Wednesday, April 6, 2016 I am presenting an ABA Women Rainmakers Spring 2016 Program titled : DON’T BE AFRAID TO PERSUADE: Using Persuasion to Win at Littler Law Firm in San Jose, California. Here is how to register and be part of a dynamic learning experience. We will also have networking and lunch!