BusinessLawGuy's Blog

Every moment of every day screens and people are vying for our attention. When you are on the phone or sitting with someone and your phone beeps with a notification about a text or social media post it distracts you and your attention from the person you’re speaking with or sitting across a table from. This happens when we are at work, at home, essentially every waking hour. I recently heard someone use the phrase “continuous partial attention.” It struck me because it seems to be the current default state of being and it is a problem in our professional worlds.

This modern affliction, the state of perpetually dividing attention between multiple information streams, is a pandemic in our hyper-connected business environments. You know this because we all have seen the executive who scans emails during meetings or, in my professional world, the attorney who toggles between brief writing and instant messages or social media posts. In these types of situations, we all are engaged in a productivity charade that ultimately diminishes our performance.

The cognitive toll this has on us is profound and insidious. We don’t need to do research to know that that our brains can’t truly multitask complex functions. The constant context-switching depletes our mental resources, degrades decision quality, and paradoxically extends the time it takes each of us on on work related tasks. I’ve seen deals complicated by misunderstandings that occurred during “half-listening” sessions and witnessed brilliant legal minds craft subpar arguments because their attention was fragmented across too many priorities.

To me, the most concerning aspect of this is how attention fragmentation erodes our professional relationships. When you’re physically present but mentally scattered, you communicate a clear message to whoever you’re with, be it colleagues or clients that something else matters more than them. I’ve witnessed the partner who nods while eyeing their smartwatch or the associate who responds with delayed comprehension because they were mentally elsewhere. These behaviors damage trust, team cohesion, and firm culture. True presence, which is the kind that builds reputations and relationships, requires sustained, undivided attention that signals genuine engagement and respect.

The solution to this state of living in continuous partial attention isn’t technological but behavioral. I try to do what I call “attention budgeting” in my practice where I allocate focused blocks of time for deep work and creating physical and digital environments that support sustained concentration. For me it results in better work product, relationship depth, and personal satisfaction. And I tell you that it’s not easy for me to stay focused like that either. But I do believe that in a business landscape where attention is increasingly a scarce resource, the ability to deploy it strategically and completely represents the ultimate competitive advantage.

The calm person wins is a truth I’ve observed during my professional career. When emotions run hot and tensions rise, if you maintain your composure you will inevitably gain the upper hand. You also will make better decisions, see opportunities others miss, and command respect by maintaining your demeanor.

I witnessed this principle a few months ago during heated settlement discussions with opposing counsel. While opposing counsel grew increasingly agitated and combative during each call, I did my best to remain calm. I didn’t react to provocations or raise my voice. And yes, it was difficult when speaking with someone who had completely lost their cool. In the end I kept restating my client’s position and let the other attorney exhaust himself emotionally. This ultimately resulted in a reasonable settlement for my client that was far different and better than what opposing counsel yelled at me during our first settlement call.

The advantage you take by remaining calm extends far beyond the legal work. In boardrooms, investment meetings, and other crucial business negotiations, if you maintain your emotional equilibrium you will hold a distinct edge. It will allow you to think clearly while others become clouded by anger or fear. You can strategize effectively while others act on impulse. You will be able to earn the confidence of others by not reacting emotionally.

I find that the beauty of cultivating calmness is that it compounds over time. Each situation you navigate with composure builds your reputation and strengthens your ability to stay centered in challenging situations in the future. People will begin to expect and respect your measured approach. Those who have dealt with you before will think twice before trying to provoke you because they know it won’t work. In that way, your calmness becomes both shield and sword by protecting you from others’ emotional outbursts while giving you the clarity to advance your objectives.

Know it isn’t easy to remain calm in the face of all situations. Cultivating genuine calmness requires dedicated practice. It means choosing your response rather than reacting instinctively. It means breathing deeply when you feel tension rising. It means maintaining perspective even when others lose theirs. But the investment pays extraordinary dividends because in business and in life, the calm person wins.

Let me tell you something about success that many people want to ignore: effort and working hard is not enough. I’ve spent my career practicing law and seen countless businesses rise and fall. Through this view I’ve noticed a peculiar misconception taking hold – this idea that if you put in the effort and hard work it undoubtedly will lead to success. There is more to success than simply putting in the effort.

Hard work is absolutely necessary to reach success, but it doesn’t guaranty it. I’ve represented brilliant entrepreneurs who worked themselves to the bone but still watched their ventures collapse. The market doesn’t care about your hard work. It’s just a given that you will put in the effort. If you don’t, then success always will be out of your reach.

I recently read an article by a professor at a university. After teaching for twenty years he has heard a new refrain from students not happy with their grade in his class: “My grade doesn’t reflect the effort I put into this course.” That’s right, students actually want their grades to be raised for trying, not for mastering the subject matter. That’s not how school and life work. When you put in the effort there is no promise of what you get in return whether in the form of a grade or business and financial success. Effort is simply required to have a chance to do your best and achieve goals (or grades).

However, and this is crucial, I’ve never encountered a successful person who didn’t work hard. In law it would be like trying to win a lawsuit without preparing for trial; theoretically possible, but not a strategy to bet on. Hard work is your ante into the game. Without it, you’re not even at the table where success happens. You’re just standing outside the building, complaining about how the game is rigged.

The reality is that hard work is merely your admission ticket to the arena of opportunity. Once you’re in, you need a potent combination of market timing, strategic thinking, relationship building, and yes, sometimes plain old luck. Think of it like a complex merger of these things where when you actually put in the effort there are external market conditions that will ultimately influence the outcome.

My advice to you is to work hard not because it guarantees success, but because without it, you’re practically guaranteeing failure. The path to success is complex and often unpredictable, but hard work remains your non-negotiable first step. It’s up to you whether you’re willing to take that step to give yourself the best chance to succeed.

After years of practicing law, I’ve learned one immutable truth: compromise isn’t just a strategy, it’s what keeps deals and relationships alive. Every day, I watch business owners and leaders who think they can strong-arm their way to success crash and burn because they refuse to bend. The most successful leaders I’ve worked with understand that giving up the perfect solution to achieve a workable one isn’t weakness.

When I sit at my desk reviewing documents, I’m not just pushing papers, but orchestrating a delicate dance of competing interests. Company A wants ironclad protection on some legal issue, Company B needs flexibility related to that issue, and somewhere in the middle lies the sweet spot where both parties can shake hands and move forward. The art is finding that middle ground without letting either side feel like they’ve lost the war. Sometimes this means spending an extra hour on the phone, walking a client through why accepting 80% of what they want today is better than spending two years in litigation.

I face my own set of compromises. Do I take on that smaller client who can’t afford premium legal rates because they show amazing potential. Do I pass up lucrative but ethically questionable work that could earn me and my firm a lot of fees. How do I balance the desire to over-prepare every case with the reality of billable hours and client budgets? These are more than just business decisions, they’re character-defining moments that shape both my practice and my professional identity.

The secret to mastering compromise isn’t just about splitting the difference. It’s about understanding the hierarchy of what truly matters. Before entering any negotiation, I tell my clients to make three lists: their must-haves, their nice-to-haves, and their willing-to-walks. This framework transforms compromise from a gut reaction into a strategic tool. When you know your true priorities, you can give ground on the periphery while protecting your core interests.

If you’re struggling with compromise in your business or life, start by examining your ego and then checking it at the door. Are you holding firm because the principle truly matters, or because you hate to “lose”? Build trust through small concessions before tackling bigger issues. Create options instead of digging into positions. Remember that today’s compromise could be tomorrow’s strategic advantage. I’ve seen countless “setbacks” turn into opportunities when viewed through the lens of time. In the end, those who master the art of compromise don’t just survive in business, they thrive by building bridges while others build walls.