Reinventing The Law Business: The Most Important Thing I Do

Managing partner Bruce Stachenfeld shares one not-so-weird trick to succeeding in the law business.

A few years ago, some of my partners and I took the Dale Carnegie course. The Dale Carnegie course is given by the Dale Carnegie Foundation. This Foundation is kind of/sort of the descendants of Dale Carnegie himself, who wrote the famous book How to Win Friends and Influence People (affiliate link).

The book is a gem and still I think by far the best book of its kind. The course is 28 hours, and consists of seven separate four-hour classes.

To my surprise, it was a great course. I learned a ton. Some of my partners loved it. (Full disclosure: others thought it wasn’t worth the time or the money.)

It is now three-ish years since we completed the course and I only remember really one thing. But that one thing is really important. I am not sure it “changed” my life but it hugely upgraded my life and career.

The one thing I have learned that I now do religiously that dramatically increases the likelihood of a successful outcome in virtually all situations is this:

Be Enthusiastic!

It is that simple. When you get right down to it, no one wants a sad sack around. But the guy who is just falling all over himself with excitement and eagerness and is so clearly in love with what he is doing – that is the guy everyone wants. That is the guy who gets the job, who gets the promotion, who gets the client, who gets it all.

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Now the Dale Carnegie guys gave us all kinds of drills, but one I still remember and it goes like this. Before an important meeting – before an important pitch – before an interview where you really want the job — before a speech or presentation – just recite this (out loud) five times:

If I act enthusiastic, I will be enthusiastic.
If I act enthusiastic, I will be enthusiastic.
If I act enthusiastic, I will be enthusiastic.
If I act enthusiastic, I will be enthusiastic.
If I act enthusiastic, I will be enthusiastic.

When you do this you start out feeling kind of like a fool. And as you do it you continue to feel like a fool. And when you are done, you still feel like a fool. But try doing this without having your emotions completely change. You just can’t help being transformed into a good mood – a happy mood – a positive mood – a mood that says I Can Do This!!!

Then you walk in with a big smile – a non-forced smile – because you are just happy and you are so:

ENTHUSIASTIC

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How could things possibly go wrong…….

This has worked for me incredibly well. Without exaggeration I do think that being enthusiastic is indeed “The Most Important Thing I Do.”


Bruce Stachenfeld is the managing partner of Duval & Stachenfeld LLP, which is an approximately 70-lawyer law firm based in midtown Manhattan. The firm is known as “The Pure Play in Real Estate Law” because all of its practice areas are focused around real estate. With 50 full-time real estate lawyers, the firm is one of the largest real estate law practices in New York City. You can contact Bruce by email at thehedgehoglawyer@gmail.com.