Don’t be distracted by criticism. Remember ~ the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you. ~ Zig Ziglar
A friend of mine told me that my name had come up in a conversation with another lawyer, who said that some of what I have posted of a personal nature is inappropriate, bad, and blameworthy, and that by extension I am a bad, bad, man.
My friend wisely declined to disclose to me the identity of my anonymous critic. Since I don’t know who he is, I feel free to imagine that he is very professional, sophisticated, intelligent, self-important, and boring as all get out.
Presumably this know-it-all was referencing some of my posts and articles which reference my domestic reorganization and the fact that I married my former Associate who is, shockingly, eons younger than me.
The short answer to this unnamed expert is that I could not give a damn what he thinks.
But knowing that I have critics out there has got me thinking about the issue of being “professional” versus letting your personality and life experience come through in your personal brand.
Back when I did lunch two to four times a week (with pretty good results in terms of client origination credits), I used to be quite open about what was going on in my personal life. I found that by doing so:
1. Some people, like my anonymous critic, didn’t like me and decided that they would never do business with me;
2. Other people could relate to my experiences and felt free to share their own. They frequently became friends, clients, and referral sources; and
3. All of them remembered me, because I was not the guy who spent the entire lunch telling them how smart I was, how great the rest of my firm was, and how we provided better service for lower fees than our competitors.
The President of one of my biggest and most profitable clients used to say that he always hired lawyers, not firms. Of course, he meant that he chose individual lawyers from various firms based on their legal acumen, but I am pretty sure that he also meant that he hired people who he liked. And it is hard to like people if you do not know them. And you cannot know them if they only present a curated view of their professional life to you.
From all of which I conclude that my critic is stupid and wrong. I will go on sharing details of my personal story and how it impacted my career, and enjoy my easy-going retirement, made possible by all of those client origination credits generated from people who I liked, and who liked me.
I wonder what type of client base my critic has?
This article was originally published by Law360 Canada, part of LexisNexis Canada Inc.