Any Warm Body

We all know people who are utterly indiscriminate in their love lives. “Any warm body will do” seems to be their motto. Fortunately, there are no such rascals amongst present company,

Sadly, though, that test is widely seen in professional circles, in at least two important circumstances.

First, far too many professionals are promiscuous in their client acquisition practices. If there’s a likelihood the client has money and can be parted from it, the client will be accepted. Any warm body will do.

If you’re lucky, the “any warm body” client will turn out to have a problem for which your professional giftings are a reasonable match, and you can leave them somewhat better off than when they first came to your door. If you’re even luckier, the client will have enough decency and gratitude to pay your fee.

But the promiscuous professional often faces a sad outcome. You will not be able to solve the client’s problems, either because you yourself lack the aptitude to do so, or because the client won’t respect your guidance, thinking he’s smarter than you. In either case, the client can’t imagine why they should pay.

There’s a second area where professionals behave promiscuously, and that’s in their professional business arrangements. We lawyers are particularly susceptible.

Here’s the situation: you find yourself with more office space, more staff, and more equipment than you need. In fact, the carrying costs are killing you. So, you think to yourself, the solution is simple: get more warm bodies into those empty professional offices!

Now, if business problems were as straightforward as Grade Nine algebra, getting more warm bodies into those empty offices would be a great solution. But we’re not quadratic variables, we’re humans, and professional humans at that.

Some of those warm bodies may be clever professionals with stellar reputations and squeaky clean ethics. But some of them are, frankly, weird and problematic. Within a week of coming on board they’ve already created a crisis over the coffee service and had a screaming match with a client in the waiting room, right in front of Mildred Smith, your favourite wealthy dowager. And then their rent cheque bounces.

Just as critical as it is that your personal giftings and your clients’ needs align perfectly, the need for all your team members to be “on the same page” professionally and reputationally is no less important.

One of my landlord tenants used to say, “Better an empty unit than a bad tenant.” Lawyers and other professionals could use the same motto. “Any warm body” in the next office, or “any warm body” as the next client is no way to build a practice or a reputation.

Are you suffering from “any warm body” syndrome? Happy to chat and look for better outcomes.