Don’t fall prey to the notion that people get paid to perform. The reality is that people get paid to show up and do work. How well they perform is largely related to how they feel. It’s true: Emotions play a huge role in performance. Productive legal team managers embrace this fact and use it to achieve the team’s common objectives. There are a number of behaviors you can exhibit that will enhance your team’s performance. Here are five.

Few attorneys are eager to step away from client work to find new business, yet it’s an essential part of your practice. Since you must invest the time, what’s the best way to get the most from your effort? A new research study identifies three business development methods that are the most successful for law firms. What do they have in common? All three are ways to demonstrate expertise and educate clients on matters they find compelling.

When we think of information security breaches, we often blame weaknesses in technology. But in many of the most damaging security breaches, trusted law firm employees and partners are the weakest link. An old email trick has resurfaced recently in the legal services arena. Fraudsters attempting to take advantage of the unwary use email to try to trick trustee office administrators. Using sham email addresses that look similar to a familiar one, requests are being sent to trustee administrators to send money immediately.

In our product-oriented culture, people are encouraged to define and exploit their “personal brand.” I have always resisted the idea that individuals should come up with a self-definition that parallels Disney or Apple. Both people and careers are much more complex and fluid than that. You do, however, still need to articulate the attributes and characteristics — not to mention skills — that make you stand out from the crowd and offer value to a client. Developing your personal value proposition is an alternative way to make a case for yourself that doesn’t have to include a logo. It requires introspection plus the ability to articulate that value to a prospective client.

Every group of listeners is a multi-eyed monster that a speaker must confront, eyeball to eyeball.

Okay, I'll say it and get it out of the way: "A picture's worth a thousand words." Trite as the aphorism may seem, it has been proven true time after time that a good solid image can be far more powerful than any block of text. Why do the most powerful speeches feature slides with absolutely no words — only images?

Recently, I interviewed the partners at a law firm as part of a marketing assessment. I asked each of them whether there is any particular industry or type of client the firm should target for business. One of the lawyers said to me, “I don’t understand that concept. It doesn’t matter to us what the client is doing or selling; we can still provide our services.”

A Curmudgeon's Perspective. The Attorney at Work compilation about time management and productivity ("A Matter of Time: Time Management and Productivity Tips for Lawyers") got me thinking about how lawyers are drawn to chasing new trends and technologies. It reminds me of my grandkids playing in the yard at dusk, when the fireflies come out. Soon, the kids are scrambling through the dark chasing, but seldom catching, those shiny, ephemeral glowbugs.

A change has crept up on us in the past couple of years. Just when you were starting to roll your eyes back into their sockets at the talk of "the death of email," up popped expressions like "WhatsApp me that file" or "I just Vibered my brother back home." People are feverishly typing communications to others on their phones, tablets and laptops — and certainly not writing emails. Propriety restrains you from spying over their shoulders, but you see enough to notice the new phenomenon in communication: group messaging and chat. And businesses are not far behind. You can order food, get a doctor appointment or track the delivery of your package — all through group messaging.

Nothing draws a smirk or an arched eyebrow in certain circles as quickly as mispronunciation of the brand name of an automobile. This faux pas is especially damning when entertaining clients in businesses related to the auto industry, but pitfalls are everywhere. Who knew that client’s passion was Formula One? As frequently noted in Get to the Point, as the well-spoken, literate attorney you are, you need to pronounce words correctly, even when those around you do not.