In-House Counsel

Why Is Business Development Like Jogging?

Because you need to set short-term, achievable goals to give yourself a chance to succeed -- and doing it with friends doesn't hurt.

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So-called “experts” often spew common sense.

What do experts on the topic of exercise tell you?  Set short-term goals.

No duh.

If you tell yourself that you’ll run three miles per day every day from now until you die, you’ll never stick to your exercise regime.  Why bother?

But if you tell yourself that you’re training for the 10K next month, or the half-marathon the month after that, or the marathon the month after that, you might actually stick to your regime.  All you have to do is slog through this silly month, run the race, and then feel good about having achieved your goal.

Short-term goals matter.

What else do experts on exercise say?  Do it with a buddy.

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No duh.

Long ago, I had a bunch of guys I ran with at lunchtime every day I was in town.  Some days, I was under siege; I really didn’t have time to run.  At 11:30, the guys would show up at my office door, ready to head to the gym.  I’d excuse myself:  “I really can’t do it today.  I’m just too busy.”

As if on cue:  “Oh, Herrmann, the big shot.  He’s got stuff to do and we don’t.  He must be a pretty important guy.  Too busy to run.  What do you think we are, chopped liver?   I’ve got a brief going out tomorrow.  Who do you think you are?  Grab your bag.”

It wasn’t worth it.  I’d grab my gym bag and head downstairs with ’em. 

Most people don’t exercise at all.  If you use short-term goals and work out with buddies, you can fool yourself into doing a little something.  Which is great.

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Use the same tools for business development.

Set short-term goals.

If you tell yourself that you’ll write one article per year for the next 30 years, you’ll never do it.  Why bother?

But if you tell yourself that you’ll write one article this year, you might actually do it.  All you have to do is write a few pages, publish the thing, and then feel good about having achieved your goal.  You can’t be such a slug that you can’t crank out one article over the course of 12 months.

Or come up with some other achievable short-term goal:  Commit to writing three emails to old friends from law school within the next two months.  Or having two lunches with clients or prospects in the next six months.  Or giving one talk this year.

Short-term, achievable goals.  Give yourself a chance to succeed.

And do it with buddies.

Agree with one of your closest friends at the firm that you’ll write an article this year if they write an article this year.  (Or co-author the thing with them.)  If the end of the year is approaching, you can count on your buddy to show up at your door:  “Oh, Herrmann, the big shot.  Too busy to write an article.  He must be a pretty important guy.” 

Most people don’t do any business development at all.  (And then they’re shocked when the firm takes advantage of them many years later.)  If you use short-term goals and buddies, you can fool yourself into doing a little something.

Short-term goals and buddies.

Did you really need me to tell you that?

Mark Herrmann spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and is now deputy general counsel at a large international company. He is the author of The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law and Inside Straight: Advice About Lawyering, In-House And Out, That Only The Internet Could Provide (affiliate links). You can reach him by email at inhouse@abovethelaw.com.

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