At the start of a new calendar or fiscal year, business leaders and professionals face a critical opportunity to evaluate which practices, policies, and procedures drive value for their organizations. This is important to consider because many companies carry forward inefficient employees, inefficient processes, outdated technology, or obsolete business models simply because “that’s how it’s always been done.” The start of the year presents an ideal moment to conduct a thorough audit of what serves your business objectives and what doesn’t.

In the legal and professional services realm, this might mean reassessing your long-standing client relationships that consistently operate at…
Continue Reading Make hard decisions to improve your business by letting go of that which is not serving you

Beginning in 2014, many of you probably read my blog regarding having a checkup for you and, if you have one, your business. This does not involve the doctor, but it does involve all of the other professionals in your personal and business life. Based on the positive feedback, I have made this an annual tradition.

Some of you said “What a great idea. I am definitely going to do that.” Others said “Sounds like a good idea, maybe I will look into that.” Another response was “I wish I had thought about this before the end of the year…
Continue Reading The 2024 version of why it’s time for an annual checkup for you and, if you have one, your company

The people you associate with help determine your future. They matter when people think of you so choosing wisely is important. Depending on your position you may or may not be able to choose co-workers, but you can choose who to spend time with both inside and outside of your company. These choices shape your path to your success (or lack thereof) so you need to choose thoughtfully.

I enjoy networking and getting to know people. A few years ago I took a step back and thought about who I spent time with and why. Through this process I realized…
Continue Reading Choose who you spend your time with

We’re just past Thanksgiving 2024 in what seems like another busy, fast, and crazy year. In thinking about writing about being thankful or gratitude, I can’t say it better than I have before, so here is my annual blog for the week of Thanksgiving. And of course, every day of the year is a good day to show gratitude to others and to be thankful.

This is a good time of year to think of gratitude generally and what you’re thankful for specifically. At the same time, it’s a great time of year to spread good feelings, which you can…
Continue Reading Show gratitude always – the 2024 version

Maintaining optimism isn’t just about wearing rose-colored glasses. It’s about you recognizing opportunity where others see obstacles. This mindset allows you to think strategically, thereby inspiring your team and identifying innovative solutions a pessimistic leader might miss. Optimism allows you to view a setback through a lense that informs better decision-making. It has a positive effect on your professional relationships, your company, and results in “pay it forward” moments for both.

If you carry the power of optimism into business relationships it can create a compound effect that helps shape your professional network. When you consistently approach people with genuine…
Continue Reading Optimism should be your default

True greatness is based on our ability to unleash the potential of those around us. To do this you have to shift your focus from personal accomplishments to enabling others’ success. If you do so, your actions will have an effect that transcends what you can achieve alone. This is the opposite of the notion that leadership centers on your individual authority alone and instead emphasizes the power of giving others agency, responsibility, and ownership across your organization and underlying teams.

This concept goes beyond formal leadership roles. A great example is a teacher who focuses on developing students’ critical…
Continue Reading Greatness is in the agency of others: empower success

I generally do not rerun prior posts but with the current state of things, the general negativity that seems to be hanging in the air, and coarseness in dealings this post from 2018 came to mind. It applied then. It applies now. It applies always.

Life seems to be made up of many rules, written and unwritten. Most are a matter of common sense, like just being nice to people you meet and deal with. It sounds so obvious you may be asking yourself why I would spend time even mentioning it. Despite being obvious, I’ll bet someone just came…
Continue Reading Be nice

Every day is a good day to think about and set goals. these can be short term or long term goals. Many people look to New Year’s Resolutions as the time you set goals or challenges for yourself. A lot of those same people are the ones who let those resolutions fall by the wayside before February 1. The fact is there is no date or time frame that matters for goal setting. What matters is taking the time to think about your goals and then go about identifying the steps and related time frames on the way to reaching…
Continue Reading It’s always a good time to think about your goals

Fulton J. Sheen said, “Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius.” While harsh, this observation rings particularly true in competitive workplace environments, where success often breeds resentment among colleagues. From subtle undermining to overt hostility, jealousy can poison team dynamics and hinder the progress of your business.

Jealousy is a complex emotion that, in a professional setting, undermines collaboration and productivity. Sometimes you can see or feel it in a palpable way. Other times it’s much more subtle but still harmful.

Businesses such as law firms present a particularly stark example of how professional jealousy can manifest. In these…
Continue Reading Professional Envy: Understanding and Overcoming Workplace Jealousy

You business has a culture whether it is conscious or not. My firm has a defined culture we call the JW Way (https://www.jaburgwilk.com/jw-way-fundamentals). It is a mission statement consisting of twenty seven fundamentals that the owners and employees strive to live in operating and working in the firm. Since making these fundamentals a conscious part of our firm it we found that it improved what we already saw as a good place to work. Overall, it has had a positive impact on our firm and the bottom line.

If you’re surprised, you shouldn’t be. Focusing on company culture…
Continue Reading The culture of your business matters

This past weekend I was reading something and saw the phrase “be the change you want to see.” I’ve heard it before and have written about the benefits of change. That day it struck me as I believe change and trying new things is the road to success in business, as well as in life and happiness.

When days are like being on a treadmill, life is monotonous. Maybe it struck me because I’m in the middle of a two-week long arbitration hearing and in many ways the days are like being on a treadmill. On this occasion it read…
Continue Reading Be the change you want to see

You grow or stay stagnant. My point is that you either are taking action to improve yourself and your business or you are not. This is similar to being all talk and no action or not. Action matters and there is no time like the present to put yourself out there, meet people, and try to expand your network.

Another part of this is continually assessing whether whatever you’re doing is achieving your desired results. This informs what actions you continue to do, abandon, or change. By doing this, it has helped me utilize my time better and with much…
Continue Reading Get up and network now

Management is about execution. More specifically, management is about executing the visions of your company’s leadership. Managers work in the present while leaders work in the future. The point is that managers of people need to focus on how to get the people they manage to execute now. Like many roles, there are any number of ways to manage people.

Some people micromanage their teams because they have the need to control what their subordinates or employees do or don’t trust their team members to execute on their own. There can be good reasons or at least what feel like…
Continue Reading Management 101: hold on loosely