The power of sincerity in a lawyer’s social media and social networking
From Rajet Taneja, EVP and Chief Technology Officer at Electronic Arts, writing on the power of sincerity:
It has long been believed that the likely root of the word “sincere” comes from the work of goldsmiths and sculptors like that of Michelangelo. Honest and hardworking craftsman who would create works without blemishes or scars would advertise them as being “sine cera” or “without wax” so customers would know they were getting genuine work that was true to form. The word sincere was derived from this origin and now has come to signify someone who is being authentic.
Taneja believes that if there is one single attribute vital to our job satisfaction and our contribution to customers, it’s sincerity. You need to be authentic. You need to be true to yourself and your values. “Being sincere to one’s self drives the conviction necessary to make the biggest difference all the time.”
Sure you’ll be faced with opportunities to cut corners in your career, but as Teneja says, “…[I]n the end, sincerity is what will propel you forward.”
Over the last decade lawyers have been handed a business development gift. As LexBlog’s President, Kevin McKeown (@kevinmckeown), describes it, the Internet, when harnessed properly, acts as relationship and reputation accelerator.
Online networks and media including blogging, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and more are proving oh so powerful for business development. Lawyers from solo and small firms to the largest law firms in the country are doing the type of work they want and generating in excess of seven figures more in revenue per year from relationships they have developed and the reputation they have enhanced online.
One common denominator among these lawyers is sincerity. They’re authentic. They’re the real deal.
No one is doing their blogging for them (if there even can be such a thing by definition). No one is doing their networking on LinkedIn for them. They Tweet themselves. And they’re more themselves than ever on Facebook. \
These lawyers are not asking their marketing departments, if they are in a large firm, or legal marketing companies to do their blogging or social media work for them. It wouldn’t be true to who they are as lawyers. They would not be acting with sincerity as to clients and as to the public at large. Like me, many feel it would unprofessional, and possibly unethical.
I can still remember Dad telling me there’s a right way and a wrong way to do everything. There are no in betweens.
Sure, you’ll be faced with shortcuts. You’ll be tempted to buy a service that’ll “do the job for you” rather than explore how these real and authentic lawyers, who are just as busy as you are (at work and with their families) find the time to be sincere.
But do yourself a favor. Be sincere. It’s the one single attribute vital to your career satisfaction and the contribution you bring to the people you serve.