BusinessLawGuy's Blog

Get out and do things with other people. We live in a large world and the pleasure from experiencing new people, places, and things provides energy, ideas, and motivation This also includes going away and hopefully disconnecting. When you do this you remember how important experience is and it can change or empower your thinking.

If you’re the workaholic it’s even more important for you to do this. And yes, I mean you should stop checking email from the time you wake up until you go to sleep. Focus on the people you’re with and new experiences. This is when you come up with amazing ideas for the future that won’t come to you when you’re in your ordinary routine.

It is no secret that hard work is required for success. And there are times you must work harder than others and longer hours. Getting ahead does not come easy. But, as important as giving your all for your career or business, you have to have down time too. And I don’t mean sleep.

You may be lucky enough to take a big trip. This gets you out of your office and frees you from routine and day-to-day thought patterns. It can allow you to think about your personal and business priorities. Sometimes you need to be experiencing something new outside of your everyday life to have the time and space to think in this manner.

Anyone can do this and it doesn’t mean we all need to do something crazy or go somewhere far, far away. It can be going to a new restaurant. It can be being a tourist in your home town – hint for those in the Phoenix area: go to the Musical Instrument Museum or take your children to the Science Center (you will like it too). It can be going to a city in your home state or a nearby state you haven’t visited before for a short or long weekend. I find most places have enough things to do for a three to four day weekend type trip. The point is to branch out and think outside of your usual box.

Don’t put off having new experiences for the future or retirement because that day may never come. Find new experiences that fit within your budget and the time you can make, whether on a Saturday or for a week long vacation. Doing so will help you to have shared experiences and a chance to think outside your box.

In the competitive landscape of business, we often become consumed by working harder and longer than others as some type of badge of success. In the legal profession this comes in the form of billable hours, client demands, and the relentless pursuit of career advancement. Yet, a recent event has caused me to think about an uncomfortable truth about my profession and business in general: our time is fundamentally limited, and no amount of legal or business expertise can negotiate an extension on life’s most binding contract.

The unexpected passing of a 35-year-old attorney who was a friend of mine brought this home to me in the past week. A nice smart attorney with a young family and a promising career, he embodied the dedication and analytical skills the legal profession demands. I recently watched part of the first day of the NCCA Men’s Basketball Tournament with him and others and a few weeks later he is gone, leaving behind grieving family and friends, as well as unfinished business both professional and personal. This stark reminder of mortality brought to mind the risk-reward analysis we all seem to apply to our lives and careers. This includes the thought it won’t be us even though life clearly comes with no guaranties.

From a strictly business perspective, operating at maximum capacity without adequate downtime represents poor resource management. The human capital that drives legal practice and business generally requires maintenance and rejuvenation for each of us to be able to deliver optimal performance. We all need to implement sustainable life practices. This means allocating appropriate time for connection with family and friends, personal interests, and experiences that generate joy and fulfillment. These all are assets that appreciate differently than professional achievements but yield invaluable returns.

Examine where your hours are being allocated and whether this distribution aligns with your life objectives, not merely your professional goals. Are you investing sufficient time in relationships that matter? Are you experiencing the activities that bring you genuine satisfaction and joy? Have you deferred too many personal aspirations to some hypothetical future date? Depending on your answers to these questions you may want to consider diversifying your time portfolio to try to build wealth in all aspects of your life. Balance is a false goal and unachievable but with effort you can strike a better balance.

The world of business has traditionally celebrated a culture of sacrifice and delayed gratification, but perhaps the wisest counsel is to realize nothing last forever and strike a more immediate balance. Work with diligence and purpose when you work, then disconnect with equal commitment to engage fully with life beyond work. Call the family member or friend you’ve been too busy to connect with. Book the trip you’ve been postponing. Pursue the hobby that brings you joy. Don’t focus only on work and lead a life insufficiently lived. Know that a well-balanced life may be the most sophisticated legal or business strategy of all because it honors both our professional obligations and our fundamental human need for meaning and connection.

Many times when a new client walks into my office they’re avoiding something. Maybe it’s a tough conversation with a business partner, a challenging negotiation with a vendor, or that dreaded discussion about succession planning. Through those interactions I’ve observed a universal truth, which is that the conversations we resist most are typically the ones we need.

Hard conversations create clarity where ambiguity festers. In my practice, I’ve watched businesses fail because founders avoided discussing their diverging visions on important issues until irreconcilable damage had been done. I also have witnessed struggling businesses grow and succeed after partners finally addressed the elephant in the room. These difficult dialogues aren’t pleasant in the moment but they prevent the slow erosion of trust and communication that can quickly escalate into issues or litigation.

The professional benefits extend beyond conflict prevention. When you cultivate the habit and environment of engaging in challenging conversations rather than sidestepping them, you develop a reputation for directness and integrity. Clients, employees, and colleagues know where they stand with you. This transparency builds trust that pays dividends throughout your career. Over the years it has become clear to me that the business owners most respected in their industries are those willing to have straightforward discussions about difficult subjects.

On a personal level, avoiding tough conversations takes a tremendous psychological toll. The mental energy expended worrying about, planning around, and delaying inevitable discussions is exhausting. The time you spend playing what I refer to as the “hypothetical game” not only wastes time but almost never is close to how the real conversation goes. We all know that you feel physically and emotionally lighter after addressing long-avoided issues, even if the outcome isn’t ideal. That is because there is relief in no longer carrying the weight of unspoken words and issues. In fact, it creates freedom in your mind where instead of worry about “that” conversation you have space for creativity, strategic thinking, and genuine connection, which are essential ingredients for both business success and personal fulfillment.

Starting today, identify one conversation you’ve been avoiding and commit to having it within the next week. Prepare thoroughly, approach it with respect and clarity, and focus on solutions rather than accusations. Your initial discomfort will pale in comparison to the long-term benefits. Remember that your willingness to engage in difficult dialogues isn’t just good business practice, it’s an investment in your career and personal well-being. Over the years, I’ve never once had a client tell me they regret having a hard conversation while I’ve had many tell me they regret avoiding one.

Sometimes inspiration comes from interesting places. I heard the above quote last night spoken by a character in a movie. The quote is from Dolly Parton, and it struck me. It clearly encourages self-discovery and intentional living generally, but I looked at it in the context of the professional realm and finding your authentic business or professional self. By this I mean finding your competitive advantage(s). Dolly didn’t directly result in my finding my authentic attorney self, but her words speak to what my professional practice has become over time in profound ways.

When I first entered the legal profession, I expected to emulate the the commercial litigation attorney who was my first professional mentor by working for someone like him and practicing in a specific niche for my entire career. This approach ended up feeling like wearing an ill-fitting suit because it restricted my natural abilities to connect with people and generate different types of legal work.

I was lucky enough to start my journey of figuring out my professional path from different attorneys and firms I worked for during my first decade in practice. Instead of staying only with commercial litigation or choosing a different niche or specialty, I focused on a few areas of the law that I had learned, enjoyed, and which I told myself connected or overlapped. It was what I needed to think to develop the broader practice I have enjoyed in the years that followed.

The breakthrough came when I recognized my strengths in connecting with people and developing business. This was based on being able to clearly communicate, being a creative problem-solver, and building genuine client relationships. By embracing these qualities rather than suppressing them, I developed a distinctive approach that attracts clients who value these specific attributes. It helped that I enjoy speaking with people and learning about them. Everyone has any interesting story if you ask the right questions.

I discovered that authenticity in a legal practice creates a ripple effect of benefits. Clients sense that I’m operating from a place of genuine strength and conviction. This makes them more likely to trust my judgment, follow my counsel, and turn into long-term clients and referral sources. I figured out it is a positive to show clients you care about them and their situation whether they have been wronged or are trying to obtain the best result when they have made a mistake.

This principle extends beyond my individual practice to firm culture and business development strategy. Law firms that clearly define their identity attract compatible clients and talent. Attempting to be all things to all people typically results in mediocrity across the board. The most successful legal practices I’ve encountered have clarity about their unique position in the market and lean into these strengths unapologetically. For my firm that is our defined culture, the JW Way (https://www.jaburgwilk.com/jw-way-fundamentals), and knowing that we generally connect well with entrepreneurial clients and business owners.

The journey to professional authenticity requires honest self-assessment, feedback from trusted colleagues, and sometimes the courage to pivot away from lucrative but misaligned opportunities. This is about deliberate evolution aligned with your core values and natural talents. By taking the time to think about what these are and lean into them you’re figuring out who you are and investing in yourself. For me, knowing precisely who I am and operating with purposeful authenticity is the foundation of my professional success. If you focus on figuring out who you are and purposefully course correct to follow that it will be the first step in many on your path to success.

In the high-stakes world of business, happily not all professional interactions are confined to conference rooms or phone calls. Sometimes, the most transformative conversations happen during something as seemingly casual as a walk through your building or your office. I’m talking about the strategic pedestrian encounter. Think of it as a nuanced art form that can reshape professional relationships in a subtle manner.

Last week, I was walking through the lobby of my building when I ran into an attorney from another law firm. What began as a chance encounter quickly evolved into a exchange of insights and a plan to connect for lunch or a drink, which will serve to deepen our professional relationship. Each step we took as we walked through the lobby was measured, not just in physical distance, but in what really was a calculated cadence of professional relationship-building. We discussed workloads and business issues all while maintaining a conversational tone that would have suggested to someone observing us that we were merely two colleagues walking to our cars at the end of a day.

The real magic of these chance meetings lies in their disarming nature. For the meeting I described, away from the structured environment of offices and conference rooms, the other attorney and I were in a authentic space and could exchange valuable perspectives. It was networking in its most elevated form, which is an intricate dance of professional engagement where information is exchanged and relationships grow.

I also find the same can happen from just walking around the office and talking to people, but not about a work project or a case. It’s more buttoned up compared to a chance conversation in a lobby but can be just as valuable. When these conversations are not just about work you’re deepening your relationship with those around you. This is invaluable for teambuilding and company culture. This is the true nature of relationship building.

Inside and outside your office, these types of conversations subtly forge or reinforce connections, reveal potential collaborative opportunities, and and build mutual professional respect. This is the essence of strategic networking where you transform seemingly casual interactions into meaningful professional touchpoints that can yield unexpected dividends. The point is that every step can be a calculated move towards your next significant opportunity.

A fundamental truth that separates successful ventures from failed ones is that when facing seemingly insurmountable challenges, the only viable path forward is straight through the difficulty. This isn’t just motivational rhetoric. Instead, it’s a practical philosophy that acknowledges that significant business problems don’t disappear on their own and that you can’t get around them through clever maneuvering.

The business landscape is littered with cautionary tales of companies that attempted to sidestep fundamental challenges rather than addressing them directly. Whether it’s a product that fails to meet market expectations, a cash flow crisis that threatens operations, or a leadership conflict that paralyzes decision-making, these issues compound when left unaddressed. The delay that results from ignoring or trying to steer wide of these large challenges transforms manageable problems into existential threats. And know there is a corresponding psychological burden because unresolved challenges drain the energy and focus you and your team need for innovation and growth that would allow you to push straight through the issue you’re facing.

What distinguishes resilient organizations is their capacity to develop the institutional capability to move toward and through difficulties rather than away from or around them. This approach requires embracing temporary discomfort for long-term stability. The path through challenges requires strategic clarity about what constitutes actual progress.

Leaders can help by distinguishing between productive struggle and unproductive suffering by making sure their team members understand the purpose behind the difficulty and why it must be faced head on. This can be done by leaders establishing clear metrics for what successful resolution looks like, communicating transparent timelines for addressing issues, and celebrating incremental victories along the way. Companies that navigate challenges most effectively are those that transform difficulties into opportunities, which also has a benefit on company culture.

The “through” philosophy ultimately represents a commitment to reality-based leadership. It acknowledges that business success isn’t about avoiding problems but developing the organizational capacity to address them in timely and well thought through manner. When you accept that challenges are not detours from your path but rather the path itself, you free yourself to approach difficulties with the clarity, focus, and determination that meaningful business building requires. The organizations that internalize this mindset have the best opportunity to survive challenges and emerge from them fundamentally transformed and positioned for sustained success.

A good work experience isn’t just a luxury. A good work experience is an absolute necessity. Businesses aren’t just purchasing labor. Instead they’re investing in human potential, and that investment requires genuine respect, meaningful engagement, and a workplace culture that recognizes the inherent dignity of every single member of their team.

The legal and ethical framework surrounding the workplace experience has evolved dramatically over the past few decades. What was once considered acceptable, such as toxic management styles, discriminatory practices, and soul-crushing monotony, is now viewed as a liability. At the same time, today’s businesses need to understand that employee satisfaction isn’t just a feel-good metric but a critical driver of productivity, innovation, and sustainable business success. When the people who work with and for you feel valued, supported, and empowered, they do more than just show up each day; they bring their full intellectual and creative capacity to every challenge looking for success.

There are concrete business advantages to cultivating exceptional workplace experiences. Engaged employees are more likely to remain with an organization, reducing costly turnover and preserving institutional knowledge. They collaborate more effectively, generate breakthrough ideas, and become ambassadors for their company’s brand. The most successful companies recognize that their greatest assets walk out the door every evening and choose whether to return with enthusiasm the next morning.

Creating a positive work environment requires intentional strategy and genuine commitment from leadership. It’s not about superficial perks like ping-pong tables or free snacks, but about fundamental respect, transparent communication, meaningful professional development opportunities, and a culture that celebrates diverse talents and perspectives. Leaders must actively listen and provide constructive feedback. They also must create pathways for growth and demonstrate that they view their team members as having aspirations far beyond their current job descriptions.

I’ve been lucky enough to see firsthand the transformative power of workplace cultures that prioritize human potential. The legal landscape I inhabit continues to evolve, with increasing emphasis on creating inclusive, supportive work environments, and foster genuine professional fulfillment. Every business leader, manager, and professional has to understand that the workplace experience at their business matters. It’s about creating spaces where people can thrive, grow, and contribute their talents. The future of work isn’t about managing human resources, it’s about unleashing human potential.

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.