Blog Posts: Law Blog

Just because the thought comes into your head does not mean it should come out of your mouth. In many situations, it matters what you say next. This is why it’s so important to think before speaking. It doesn’t mean long uncomfortable silences. And it does mean you need to plan for important conversations, negotiations, or presentations. It also means you need ...

In everything you do you can do better; you can be better. Always. If you disagree you are only fooling yourself and being intellectually dishonest. Investing in yourself is the best investment you can make. If you put your money in a can and bury it in your backyard, it has no chance to grow. If you invest your money, it has the chance to grow. The corollary is if...

Are you the workaholic each of us knows? You know the one. Checking email from the moment they wake up, when they are at lunch with you (rude, by the way), and checking it right before they go to sleep. Every social opportunity is really a networking opportunity with people they probably would not socialize with. All conversations point towards and relate to busine...

Expectations are important whether it’s your expectations of yourself or setting expectations for others. In both instances, it’s good to be realistic. If your expectations aren’t, it is a negative either because you set the expectation too low, as if you didn’t have faith in yourself in a given situation, or you set the expectation too high...

When you are striving to reach a goal, do you get there by the intensity you bring to it or by the consistency in following the steps you have sketched out? I think it’s a combination of the two. You can employ both to pursue your goals and dreams. Intensity can move you forward like a big push someone gives you when are on a swing. It’s focus and energy. It m...

We all take inspiration from different people, actions, inactions and observations. Sometimes it comes out of nowhere and sometimes it comes from surprising places. When it does, you need to be ready to notice and process what it means to you. For instance, I find inspiration for various blog posts I’ve written from many different sources, many unexpected. The s...

Networking is about knowing more people. Connecting is about knowing people more. The distinction is obvious. You know a lot of people professionally and personally, but you actually are connected to only a fraction of those you know. When you are at a business, social or charitable event, you likely run into many people you know. With many of these people, you wil...

We all have a pitch to make and the need to do so comes up all of the time. Many times, you are making a pitch unconsciously because it can be second nature for some. Think about how good your pitch could be if you actually thought about what you want to say in a given situation. A pitch is about conveying information to one or more people to obtain a desired resul...

JW Way #5  Listen Fully.  Listening is more than simply "not speaking."  Give others your undivided attention.  Set aside your own judgments and preconceived notions.  Listen with focus.  Most importantly, listen to understand.  Listening fully may be one of the best gifts you can give your client, colleagues, friends, family and ...

I recently came across a good quote which I hadn’t read in quite a long time. It spoke to something I agree with, which is the importance of being a lifetime learner. I was cleaning out some old emails and the quote was in an email from a friend. The quote brought to mind a truth: continuous learning and training makes for a better and more interesting life and w...