Month: October 2009

Creativity—You’re Full of It!

The American Bar Association asked me to write the introductory article for the November Issue of The Young Lawyer (one of their many magazines for attorneys). The issue is dedicated to the theme of Creativity.  It’s on the streets now, so I can finally share the essay.  Enjoy.

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Creativity—You’re Full of It!

By Kevin E. Houchin

You’re full of it! You really are. There’s no way that I’m the first person to tell you. You can’t deny it. You’re full of it up to your eyebrows.

Full of creativity. You were born with it. You are made of wonderful, delicious, colorful, smelly, heaping globs of creativity!

As a child, your humanity burned with the divine spirit of creativity. You imagined games. You imagined friends. And, you even created vivid experiences that existed only in your mind but existed nonetheless.

Then, you went to school.

You learned to live by other peoples’ rules and their ideas of how and what you “should” be. Walls grew that blocked your view of those wonderful places in your imagination. Those walls grew until finally the creativity of your heart, spirit, and right brain were all but abandoned in favor of subjects that could be objectively tested with multiple-choice exams and computer-graded bubble sheets.

Then, you went to law school.

Your walls were adorned with thorns and you were not even allowed to have ideas of your own. Any creativity you were allowed to display was carefully disguised as nuanced synthesis of precedent (other people’s ideas—the older and less original the better).

It felt like you had suddenly become unworthy of being the source of an idea or thought. You felt like a slave to a footnote or maybe like a footnote yourself.

But, you’re not in law school anymore. Now, you’re the only “source” that really matters. Your senior partner may determine your job status and salary, but you get to decide how much credibility to give those things.

If you’re feeling trapped in a job that doesn’t allow you to express your creativity, you have the power to change that. You don’t have to leave your job to feel more fulfilled. Rather, start chopping through the thorns and breaking down the walls that decades of education have placed around your creative spirit. Trust me, you can do this and still be an effective lawyer. It may even be the secret prerequisite to a happy and satisfied life in the law.

There’s no simple seven-step process to recovering your creative spirit. The journey is different for each of us. A simple start is to look for creative opportunities that already surround you. You happen to be holding one of them in your hand. This issue of The Young Lawyer is dedicated to helping lawyers recognize opportunities for expressing creativity in their lives and work. Use it to jumpstart ideas for creative outlets that you would enjoy. Paint, play music, sail, climb, write, spend time with family, do community service, sing—do something other than work.

It’s time to start living a more creative life. Read these articles. Fuel your spark of creativity, and then share your flame. You’re full of it!

The kind of notes that make one’s day…

I received this note as feedback from the article I wrote to introduce the November issue of the ABA Young Lawyer Magazine which is dedicated to Creativity.  The article is titled “You’re Full of It!”  As soon as the ABA puts the issue online, I’ll post the article. Until then, they have exclusive first publication rights.  🙂

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Mr. Houchin:

I just wanted to thank you for writing such a necessary article in the YLD Newsletter. What you wrote resonated with me on a host of levels, and it arrived in my office at EXACTLY the moment I needed to hear someone outside of my own mind remind me of all the creativity that I have been trying to find time to cultivate and enjoy. The practice of law can feel all consuming. Conflict is a daily part of the practice. Nonetheless, the antidote is exactly the cultivation of the creative.

Just a note to say, your words were very necessary and came at exactly that right moment.

Thank you,

Tanisha M. Bailey-Roka, Esq.

Thanks Tanisha.  🙂


An Idea Worth Sharing

As many of you know, I’m a big fan of TED talks.  I’m also a big fan of Dan Pink’s Book A Whole New Mind.

For those of you who don’t like to read much… (well, first, start reading more), but in the mean time.  Watch this:

The Tao of Advice

This article was originally published in Alexis Martin Neely’s Law Business Revolution Dispatch – Volume 1 – Issue 8.  The other articles are great! If you’re a lawyer who wants to make a difference, you should subscribe.  There are great marketing articles in here for non-lawyers too…

The Tao of Advice

© 2009 Kevin E. Houchin, Esq.

You are an expert at something. Everyone is an expert at something. Everyone. No exceptions. One of the secrets to success is bringing your area of expertise into resonance with your professional career. As lawyers we’re expected to be the experts. Handing out advice is what we do and I’m sure the content of your advice is top notch, but does your delivery build relationships with current clients and attracts more clients, or does your style push clients away?

It’s time to give conscious attention to the way you give advice. Giving advice is a position of incredible power and responsibility. Lance Secretan in his book Inspire! What Great Leaders Do (Wiley, 2004) says that every communication between humans is an opportunity to inspire. Are you using your opportunities to give advice as opportunities to inspire your clients to reach more of their potential? Here are three themes to improve your advice-giving style so that what you communicate will actually inspire your client to take action:

1. Simplify

2. Patience

3. Compassion

Simplify:

Our job is not to complicate, but to simplify. I used to have an office mate that enjoyed complexity. He enjoyed it so much that he could take a simple client matter and turn it into a complex problem effortlessly. Maybe he thought it helped his billings. Maybe he thought it made him look smart. Maybe he thought he was helping his client understand all the potential issues in a situation. All I know for sure is that it annoyed me to no end and I could tell from the body language of his clients that the same was true for them. Giving advice is about being helpful, not necessarily about being smart or even being “right.”

The Tao Te Ching says:

Governing a large country

Is like frying a small fish.

You spoil it with too much poking.

It’s the same with giving advice. Make your advice as simple as possible.

Patience:

This is the hardest for me. Many lawyers jump to the solution before listening to the entire problem. I become impatient, fidgety. I’m sure you’ve felt the same way. And, if you’re still billing by the hour, it’s easy to rationalize interrupting the client’s narrative in the name of saving the client money. How helpful is that? Not very.

I’ve always liked putting “Attorney and Counselor at Law” on my business cards. It has such a classic old-world craftsmanship feeling. People sometimes ask me what’s the difference between “Attorney” and “Counselor.” I have two answers. First, that as a counselor, I’m in listening mode and as an attorney I’m in talking mode. Second, that you want to hire me as a counselor so that you don’t need me as an attorney. I’ve come to appreciate the counselor role as more valuable and personally rewarding. One of my favorite books, The Trusted Advisor by Maister, Green, and Galford says “more value is added through problem definition than through problem answer.” I believe them.

To enjoy the role of counselor I have to remain patient. The difficulty in remaining patient is not the responsibility of the client; it’s the responsibility of the lawyer. I’ve found it much easier to remain patient if I ask my client to “tell me a story” because then I can find the patience to just listen and give them 100% attention. Sometimes just having someone listen is all a client really needs. If you’re patient, they usually find the solution themselves, and you still end up getting credit for helping solve the problem.

The Tao Te Ching asks:

Do you have the patience to wait

till your mud settles and the water is clear?

Can you remain unmoving

till the right action arises by itself.

Taking some extra time is worth the effort.

Compassion

How many clients have come to you feeling shame? Shame that they haven’t taken care of an issue sooner. Shame that they made a mistake. Shame is a powerful feeling and we have the opportunity to remove that shame through compassion. Most of us are good at providing compassion, but let’s add some nuance.

Again, I learned something from my office mate. He was in his 60s and had a tendency to talk down to clients, most of whom were young enough to be his children or his grandchildren. He gave off a paternalistic vibe. That “father” energy may have made some people feel safe, which is good, but I witnessed it pushing more people away. NOBODY likes admitting a mistake to their parents, and not many people enjoy asking their parents for help. What kind of energy are you putting out?

I’ve worked with several professional coaches and the question of why I attract the type of clients I serve has been a recurring topic. The answer finally dawned on me the other day. My coach suggested that many clients might be looking for a “father” archetype in their lives. The “Ah! HA! Moment” happened when I pushed back saying that most of my clients are roughly my own age, so I couldn’t be seen as their father. The energy I bring to the relationship is that of a compassionate brother.

Are you a compassionate brother or sister to your clients? Do you give your clients loving encouragement when they’re struggling with a problem? Do you celebrate your clients’ wins like they were your own? Do you give them a bit of good-natured ribbing when they knew the answer all along? Do you have their back if someone threatens their security?

The Tao Te Ching reminds us:

The Tao nourishes by not forcing.

By not dominating, the Master leads.

Leave those parental instincts at the door and treat your clients as your brothers and sisters.

Give your advice with simplicity, patience, and compassion and you will feel greater joy in your work, make a lasting difference in the lives of your clients, and attract the types of clients that you are meant to serve.

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Kevin E. Houchin is an author and Creative Business Lawyer™ helping people reach their potential through creative business. He can be contacted through his website at www.HouchinLaw.com or @kevinhouchin on Twitter.