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EVENTS
Portland City Club
Friday, July 31
11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Legislative "Old Hands" Assess the Session:
2009 Legislative Wrap-Up Part One
With Speaker of the House Dave Hunt; Senator Margaret Carter, co-chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Ways & Means; Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli; and Senate President Peter Courtney
Friday, September 11
11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Legislative "New Hands" Assess the Session:
2009 Legislative Wrap-Up Part Two
Speakers TBA
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Oregon Women Lawyers
Queen's Bench
Tuesday, August 11,
11:45 am to 1:00 pm
Rock Bottom Restaurant 206 SW Morrison St. Portland
Queen's Bench welcomes executive coach Jo Smith who will speak about using emotional intelligence in leadership positions.
Lunch is $14 at the door, cash or check only. No reservations required. For more information contact Kristin Sterling.
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Association for Corporate Growth
11th Annual Golf Tournament
August 12th, 2009
Raffle to Support U of O, OSU and PSU Business Students
Sign up now
503.768.4299
More Info Here
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Book of the Month
Mark Maraia has written another excellent professional services marketing book, Relationships are Everything. The book is divided into sections with such titles as, "Starting Relationships," "Making More Time for Relationships," and "Improving Relationships
Within Your Firm." Each section is filled with short, pithy chapters of targeted relationship-building advice. Read cover-to-cover, this book will deepen your understanding and appreciation of relationship marketing. Read one short chapter at a time, in five-minute increments, this book will provide you with a multitude of new and renewed marketing ideas to grow your practice.
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Are You on Meeting and Event Overload?
How to choose wisely for best results
Membership and participation in professional, industry and/or community organizations should be a part of every professional's business plan. If you join and participate in every organization you think might be beneficial, interesting or just plain fun, however, you can soon find yourself overrun with events and commitments. How do you choose and how many do you choose?
Following are four reasons to become an active member in an organization or association and/or to attend its meetings and events (I'd welcome other ideas from my readers):
- Meet prospects. Do you know what organizations your clients belong to or events and conferences they attend? If you do and non-members are welcome, visit a meeting or two to decide if you think your participation will be valuable to you or your clients. Keep in mind that if your clients are there, your prospects are probably there, too. If you don't know what organizations your clients belong to and or events and conferences they attend, you can find out by simply asking them, "What organizations do you find useful? What conferences do you attend? Do you think it would it be beneficial for me to attend?" Add the organizations and/or events your clients attend and/or recommend to your "short list" as you consider your community and professional involvement.
- Give back to your community and/or profession. You are well-educated and deservedly successful. With your education and success come an obligation and opportunity to help your community and/or profession. Just a few of the organizations you can join to serve your community and/or profession include your undergraduate or graduate alumni association(s); local, state or national bar or other professional association(s) and committees; public school foundations; local and national charitable giving boards and foundations. There are many options, so follow your interests. In the case of a charitable board, I advise you to follow your passion. Which organizations are of greatest interest to you? Add them to your list.
- Learn something you want or need to learn. What professional association or committee can help you stay abreast of your field of expertise? What industry association can help you stay informed about your clients' industries? What organizations can help you remain current about local or business news? What do you want to learn about, regardless of its application to your work and clients, and where can you learn about it? Add these organizations and associations to your list for consideration.
- Have fun! Ideally, your professional practice is not ALL of your life, but is part of your full and integrated life. What organizations do you want to join or events do you want to attend just for the fun of it? If you want to join a stamp collectors' or a decoy carvers' club, do it! Don't try to convince yourself (or others) that this is the most strategic use of your practice development time, just do it for the joy of it. If you get some clients from the affiliation - and you certainly might, especially if you're conscious of meeting people, learning what they do with the rest of their lives, offering your professional services when appropriate and having a good time - that will be icing on the cake. Add these groups and organizations to your list, as well.
Now, look at the list you've created and ask yourself, "Which ones will best serve my purposes? Which ones will best serve my community or profession? Will any serve multiple purposes? Which ones will I most enjoy?" Select one or two organizations for active membership and perhaps two or three more for selective attendance. Choose occasional or recurring events and conferences with similar thoughtfulness. Avoid organizations and events you don't like, instead choosing those you enjoy and care about.
Choose wisely. When your meetings and events are purposeful, interesting and/or fun, rather than burdensome, you'll enjoy yourself more and be more effective for yourself, your organization and your firm. |
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Build Your Practice with a Coach
How to get the most out of your coaching experience
Are you working with a practice-building coach or thinking about it? Here are some suggestions to help you get the most out of your experience:
- Enter coaching with an open mind.
- Before you begin coaching, think about the following questions. Don't worry, however, if you don't have the answers...you and your coach can find them together:
- What do I want to achieve? Think BIG and long-term, e.g. don't screen out ideas that seem too big and do think about what you want to achieve in your lifetime or in the next ten years. Don't worry about strategies or measurable goals...you and your coach will work on those.
- Why do I want to achieve what I've identified above? In other words, what is the purpose that will motivate you to commit to your goals?
- What has prevented me from achieving these goals? Perhaps you've been working steadily toward these goals and now is the time to give them more focused attention. On the other hand, maybe you don't know how to market yourself or you don't like what you perceive to be marketing. What are your roadblocks?
- Be open and honest with your coach. The more honest and trusting your relationship with your coach, the better he or she can help you develop strategies that will work for YOU, strategies that will help you leverage your strengths and navigate your challenges.
- Commit to trying new ideas. You and your coach can identify ideas that are an appropriate stretch (neither too big nor too small) to help you achieve your goals.
- Follow through on your fieldwork between meetings. At the end of each meeting, you and your coach should discuss your fieldwork until you're in agreement about what you're going to complete before your next meeting. Commit and follow through.
- Come to your next meeting prepared to discuss your fieldwork, successes and any roadblocks you've encountered or questions that have arisen since your last meeting.
- Don't waste your coaching investment on a mediocre experience. Be open, be prepared, follow through, and if at any time you're not satisfied with your coaching experience, speak up. Your coach might be able to explain the process to your satisfaction or change the direction of the coaching. If you're doing all of this and not getting the results you want, consider working with a different coach.
- Have fun! Enjoy your coaching process and make sure you and your coach build fun into your business development plan. You'll implement your plan more easily and attract new clients more successfully if you're enjoying what you're doing.
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Coaching for Success
Are you considering coaching for yourself or others in your firm? Do you want new and better clients? Would you or others benefit from better business development, communications, practice management skills?
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