Legal Commentary

Comfort Zones ... and the Need to Improve

By Patrick J. Lamb

When I was a kid playing football, the coach told me to play line.  I was big for my age, so it made sense.  During the season, our starting running back was hurt and coach told me to play running back.  I objected, because I had never done so before.  He looked at me and said, "Son, if you don't ever challenge yourself, you'll never be anything more than you are right now."  It was one of those life lessons that has stayed with me.

As I survey the legal landscape, I see a lot of people playing in their comfort zones.  "I don't want to try value fees because they're hard."  "I won't use project management tools because what I do is customized work."  "I can't commit to a price because I don't know what the other side will do."  The number of things people say, often times only to themselves, to justify staying in their comfort zones is astounding.

One of my favorite movie lines is from The Shawshank Redemption.  Andy, the character played by Tim Robbins, is telling Red, played by Morgan Freeman, about his dream.  And he ends by saying, "I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really.  Get busy living or get busy dying."  

You can stay in your comfort zone or you can get busy living.  If you fail to choose, you have chosen.

Full post as published by In Search of Perfect Client Service on May 29, 2010 (boomark / email).