Your personal brand (or whatever you choose to call it) is something you have the option to alter. On Tuesday I suggested that you interview people that know you very well and listen to what they have to say. I cautioned… "The hard part is hearing it! Yes, you have to be willing to hear it and not argue, make excuses or deny that it is so! I realize that is a tall order for lawyers… But, I have faith that you can do it!"

Here are a couple of examples…

The “why” could help. A client who works for a large international firm was told…“You have the ability to get people to confide in you. They tell you intimate details that they would never tell anyone else, and they know you would never repeat it and if you do use it would be in the most discreet way.” The attorney knew that people are comfortable talking to him but he was completely unaware of the sense of trust he instills in them. Just knowing this fact gave him a greater sense of confidence in dealing with both clients and colleagues.

It’s all about perception. This client had to take a deep breath and bite her tongue. Her mentor told her… “I think others think you are disorganized because your office looks so messy.” She explained to me that she isn’t disorganized; she knows exactly where every file is and confessed that she is a bit of a “pack rat.” My question to her was… “Is this a perception that you want to continue or do you want to change it?” She replied… “I want people to think that I am organized because I am.” My recommendation… “Clean your office! Don’t let that be a topic of conversation. Appear as organized as you are.

Black Pearl: I have talked about Heidi Grant Halvorson’s work before… Nine Things Successful People Do Differently. She has now created an assessment tool to help us measure our nine skills: it’s the Nine Things Diagnostic. It is a FREE online test that takes about 7-10 minutes. It gives you feedback on each of the nine things… what you have mastered and what you need to work on. It is great! I took it and as you might suspect, a couple of times I thought… "Who, me?" Try it!