Qualities of Successful Professionals

This might not seem like a very 'lawyer-like' thing to do, but when I mentor law students, I always dedicate an entire session to this concept alone: Treat everybody well. Be friends with as many people as you can. Never be mean to anyone. Give people the benefit of the doubt. When opposing counsel yells at you or sends that passive-aggressive email, assume they're having a bad day or going through something difficult. Always offer extensions when you can (if it doesn't prejudice your client). Why? Because someday, you'll need that same grace. I've seen brilliant attorneys burn bridges through unnecessary aggression, only to find themselves isolated when they needed support. I've also seen average legal minds build extraordinary careers through consistent kindness and collaboration. The legal profession is small. Reputations travel fast. Being a good person isn't just morally right - it's strategically smart. #LegalEthics #LawyerLife #ProfessionalDevelopment

The best sales reps solve my problems: 1️⃣ They listen to my actual problems and show me the best solution using their product — and other products. They learn my business fast, and show me exactly how their product solves my problems. 2️⃣ They help me demo, pilot or try the product in whatever fashion makes me the most comfortable. 3️⃣ They are fluent in, and honest about, the competition. This saves me time in my research. No, if your competition also has tons of customers, then they are not terrible at everything. Be honest about where you are strong, where you are equal, and where you are — for now — a bit behind. 4️⃣ They are honest about product gaps and weaknesses so I know up front. This saves me a lot of time and headaches. There is nothing worse than having to discover an important product gap after you’ve bought and deployed an app. But if I know up front, I can plan around it. 5️⃣ They don’t play games with pricing and I know the price is and will be fair from the start. This saves me a lot of time. 6️⃣ They are there for you after the deal. Yes, I know you are handing me off to customer success or whomever. But sometimes, they aren’t great and I need help. The best reps make you feel like they are always there for you, after the sale. Even if secretly, they’d rather be working on their top opportunities. 7️⃣ They’ve done research on me before the first call. They know what I do, who I am, how many employees we have, what we care about and need. This isn’t that hard. But boy it really helps. And works. What the mediocre and poor reps do: 👿 Play (endless) games with price. I don’t have time. I know this may be all you care about, but I have a lot of other needs. 😡 Fake and pressure-filled urgency to buy now. Yes, this is an art. Practice it poorly and you are adding to my headaches. I’ll buy this month if you’ve treated me well and addressed all my needs. But no games about your generic product getting so much more expensive next month. It’s not even true. 😠 Pushing me to buy the wrong / too expensive of an edition. This can blow a deal, or undermine trust. If the simpler edition is fine for now, just sell me that. Lies about the competition. This just makes my job of discovery and learning harder. 🙉 Not understanding my budget and situation. Don’t treat an SMB like a F500 company. Understand their budget and work to it — as a partner. 🎣 Too few check-ins. I need help. 🙅♂️ Too many check-ins. Leave me be. 🛑 Break-up emails. Seriously? That doesn’t help me. You should be there when I’m ready. Even if that’s 6 months from now. 🤑 Playing games on renewals. Ripping me off when we start is bad enough. Ripping me off once I depend on you is even worse. 🔚 Turning off free trials with drama. Not cool. If I need more time, just give it to me. Not everything is life has to be so transactional.

Lawyers love words like "ipso facto". Clients don’t. ⛔ Newsflash: Most of them don't know Latin. 🤣 They want clarity, not complexity. Connection, not cold professionalism. Want to be the lawyer they trust and rave about? Here’s what they wish YOU knew: 1/ Speak Human, Not Legalese ↳ “If they leave confused, they leave frustrated.” ↳ Simplify. Use analogies. Add visuals. 2/ Ask Better Questions ↳ “What’s keeping you up at night?” gets you closer to the real issue than “What’s the matter?” 3/ Learn Their World ↳ Tailored advice > textbook advice. ↳ Know their business. Speak their language. 4/ Set Expectations Early ↳ No one likes surprise bills or radio silence. ↳ Map the process. Flag risks upfront. 5/ Be Accessible (Without Burnout) ↳ Boundaries matter. But so does communication. ↳ Tools like case dashboards help. 6/ Acknowledge Their Emotions ↳ A little empathy goes a long way. Legal issues are personal—even in business. 7/ Celebrate Wins ↳ A simple “Congrats! So happy for you!” builds trust faster than a 30-page opinion. 👉 Final Thought: Clients may never say it out loud, but they notice the small things. Show you get them, and you’ll be the one they recommend. What’s one lesson you’ve learnt from your clients? Drop it below. 👇 ♻️ Repost to help lawyers. 🔔 And follow Shulin Lee for more.

40% of CEOs are introverts. They're running trillion dollar companies like Google, Microsoft, and Berkshire Hathaway. Yet most leadership advice assumes you need to be the loudest voice in the room. The world's best CEOs aren't performing. They're processing. While others rush to speak, introverted leaders: → Use more prefrontal cortex (better long-term decisions) → Listen 80% of the time (3x more engaged teams) → Sustain deep focus for hours (4x productivity gains) I've coached hundreds of CEOs. The quiet ones consistently outperform. Not despite their introversion. Because of it. What society often says are leadership "weaknesses" are actually strategic advantages: That need for alone time?  ↳ It's when you solve complex problems others miss Your preference for writing? ↳ Creates clarity that prevents million-dollar mistakes Your small inner circle? ↳ Builds trust that shallow networkers never achieve Your tendency to over-prepare? ↳ Wins before you walk in the room The Quiet CEO Playbook: 1. Stop apologizing for thinking time  - Block 2-4 hours daily for deep work  - Your best ideas come in silence 2. Lead through writing first  - Send pre-meeting thoughts  - Let ideas marinate before discussing 3. Build your energy budget  - Know exactly what drains you  - Protect your recharge time fiercely 4. Create listening systems  - 1-on-1s over group meetings  - Anonymous feedback channels 5. Prepare like your advantage depends on it  - Because it does  - Information asymmetry is power The business world rewards the wrong things. Quick answers over right answers. Volume over value. Presence over impact. But markets don't care about personality types. They care about results. And introverts deliver results through: → Deeper thinking → Better listening   → Calmer decisions → Stronger focus You don't need to become an extrovert to succeed. Your quiet nature isn't a bug. It's a feature. The world has enough loud leaders. What it needs is more leaders who think before they speak. Who listen before they act. Who build before they boast. If that's you... Own it. P.S. Want a PDF of my Why Introverts Make Powerful CEOs cheat sheet? Get it free: https://lnkd.in/dNhDkyaJ ♻️ Repost to inspire a CEO in your network. Follow Eric Partaker for more leadership insights. — 📢 Want to lead like a world-class CEO? Our next cohort of the CEO Accelerator starts July 23rd. 30+ Founders & CEOs have already enrolled. Learn more and apply today: https://lnkd.in/duZeBbEf

Rick Rubin on self-doubt and self-sabotage: "Some successful artists are deeply insecure, self-sabotaging, struggling with addiction, or facing other obstacles to making and sharing their work. An unhealthy self-image or a hardship in life can fuel great art, creating a deep well of insight and emotion for an artist to draw from. They can also get in the way of the artist being able to make many things over a long period of time. People who are particularly challenged in this sense generally can’t produce creative work over and over again. This isn’t because they’re not artistically capable, but because they were only able to break through their own issues one or two times and share great work. One of the reasons so many great artists die of overdoses early in their lives is because they’re using drugs to numb a very painful existence." (Rick Rubin, The Creative Act)

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘀. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 Start with the Patient, Not the Plant Medical cannabis is medicine, not wellness or lifestyle. Your product must serve a real need consistently & safely, backed by data. Understand patient journeys, work with clinics & doctors, & embed yourself in the healthcare system, not outside it. Build GACP First, Then EU GMP or Equivalent Too many try to chase EU GMP without mastering GACP. Good Agricultural & Collection Practices are about how you grow. EU GMP is for post-harvest processing & pharma-grade quality control. Get the basics right, document everything, & then scale. Make Regulation One of Your Strengths If you don’t understand the regulatory landscape, you don’t have a business. Know your country’s cannabis laws, narcotics classifications, export rules, & patient access pathways. Compliance is not a department, it’s part of your product. Never Outsource Your Integrity There will be pressure to cut corners, overpromise, or take shortcuts. Don’t. One contamination, one false claim, one deal with a bad distributor and your business collapses. In cannabis, reputation takes years to build and seconds to lose. Trust the Local Team If you operate in another country, listen to the people on the ground. Local growers, engineers, regulators, and logistics teams know more than a remote HQ ever will. Many failed projects stem from ignoring local intelligence. Control the Supply Chain Medical cannabis isn’t just about growing. It’s about controlling drying, processing, lab testing, packaging, export clearance, & more. Own your chain or verify every part of it. You cannot afford surprises with patient-use products. Avoid Chasing the “Next Big Thing” There’s always a new hype, CBD for pets, infused snacks, luxury creams. These trends rarely survive strict medical regulation. Stick to your core business. Deliver clean, consistent, compliant flower or extract. Then grow. Document Everything This industry runs on traceability. You need clean SOPs, batch logs, validated results, cultivation records, & patient outcomes. If it’s not documented, it didn’t happen. If it’s not auditable, it’s not exportable. Raise the Right Money Work with investors who understand the timelines and risks. You need partners who can handle a 3 to 5-year return horizon and still back compliance over short-term revenue. Misaligned finance will kill your project faster than pests. Know When to Say No Sometimes the smartest move is to walk away. If the laws are too grey, your partners untrustworthy, or the facility isn’t ready, pause. Medical cannabis must be built with discipline and maturity. Forced projects fail. Focused ones succeed. Please ask me how to build or fix your cannabis business if you are unsure, stuck, or scaling. I’ve worked in this space for 9+ years, and I have seen what works and what wrecks good ideas.

Working as a lawyer, especially in-house means: 1) Skip the legal history lesson. Start with "We can do this by..." not "We can't because..." Execs want solutions, not obstacles. Show you understand business risks, not just legal ones. 2) Never say "that's not legal's problem." Your company doesn't separate legal issues from business issues—so don't create artificial boundaries. Own problems together with your business partners. 3) Relationships matter more than you think. The lawyer who can get a quick answer from a regulator creates more value than one with perfect legal memos but no connections. Build your network before you need it. 4) Not every question needs the same response. Learn when to give quick guidance versus deep analysis. This skill separates valuable counsel from bottlenecks. #legaltech #innovation #law #business #learning

How to become an SEO superstar I've worked with hundreds of SEO specialists throughout my career, and I can bucket them into 5 levels using Shaan Puri's triangle of talent. Here's the breakdown: Level 1: 30% of the SEO specialists I have come across are at level 1. These are the dinosaurs still building Web 2.0s, social bookmarks and comment links. They're essentially useless in today's SEO landscape. If you are at this level, you have some serious thinking to do. Level 2: About 50% of them are task monkeys. They need detailed SOPs, constant supervision, and regular standups and follow-ups to deliver results. Unfortunately, most SEO specialists never progress beyond this stage. Level 3: About 15% of the people are problem solvers. Throw a problem at them and they will come back with a solution, but they won't lift a finger if you don't ask them to. Level 4: Only about 4% are systems thinkers. These specialists don't just solve problems - they consider resources, create processes, and build sustainable solutions that work without their constant involvement. Level 5: The top 1% SEO superstars. These rare individuals are both problem solvers and problem identifiers. They spot and address issues before others even recognise them. They demonstrate high agency in everything they do. They work autonomously and create a massive business impact. So, how do you become an SEO superstar? Everyone starts somewhere, and Level 2 is a perfectly acceptable entry point. Spend a year or two there, but remember - the jump to Level 5 isn't as huge as you might think. While in Level 2 or 3, start showing glimpses of superstar potential. Most people stay stuck in Level 2 (or 3) because they're waiting for someone else to solve problems or give them permission to act. Break this mindset by taking initiative. Start by making your manager's life easier. Look for inefficiencies in existing processes and improve them. Identify issues that can move the needle. Pick up those deprioritised problems that everyone sees but no one addresses. I've witnessed SEO specialists make this leap from task executors to superstars. The path is clear, and the gap isn't as wide as it appears. Either you take the leap of faith from level 2 to level 5 OR See yourself rot in level 2 and eventually slip to level 1. So tell me honestly, which level are you at?

This Is What I See in Every Good Cybersecurity Professional I’ve interacted with hundreds of cybersecurity professionals over the years. Here’s what they all seem to have in common. Different backgrounds. Different countries. Different career paths. But the same patterns keep showing up. 1️⃣ First, they never stop learning. Not because they’re chasing titles, but because the field forces them to adapt. Curiosity is non negotiable in cybersecurity. 2️⃣ Second, they understand context. The strongest professionals don’t just know tools. They know why those tools exist, how systems work together, and how security supports business goals. 3️⃣ Third, they communicate well. They can explain complex issues simply. They know how to talk to engineers, executives, and non technical teams without sounding condescending or confusing. 4️⃣ Fourth, they’ve failed more than they talk about. Failed interviews. Missed certifications. Wrong career moves. What separates them is not avoiding failure, but learning quickly from it. 5️⃣ Fifth, they play the long game. No rush. No shortcuts. Just consistent effort over time. Most of the “overnight successes” you see have been at it quietly for years. And lastly, they give back. Through mentoring, writing, speaking, or simply answering questions. The best in the field understand that growth multiplies when knowledge is shared. If you’re trying to grow in cybersecurity, pay attention to these patterns. They matter more than any single course or certification. Follow Jonathan Ayodele for more cybersecurity career advice #CybersecurityCareerGrowth

I’ve spent several decades in the accounting profession, both as a senior leader and an educator. During this time, I’ve observed what truly sets successful accountants apart from the rest. It’s not just about crunching numbers or understanding financial statements, though those are foundational. It’s about a combination of skills, mindset, and continuous learning. Here are five things you need to be successful in the accounting profession: 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 Accounting is a precision game. One misplaced decimal can turn a solid balance sheet into a disaster. Successful accountants have an almost obsessive attention to detail. They don’t just look at numbers; they scrutinize them. They notice discrepancies that others might miss and take pride in the accuracy of their work. 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 The accounting landscape is constantly evolving. New regulations, technological advancements, and economic shifts require accountants to be adaptable. Those who thrive are the ones who embrace change and continuously seek to update their skills. Whether it’s learning a new software or understanding a new tax law, adaptability is key. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 Accounting isn’t done in a vacuum. Whether you’re explaining financial data to a client or collaborating with a team, strong communication skills are essential. Successful accountants can translate complex financial information into clear, actionable insights. They are effective communicators who can build trust and rapport with their clients and colleagues. 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 In a profession built on trust, ethical judgment is paramount. Successful accountants adhere to a strong moral compass and uphold the integrity of their work. They understand the importance of transparency and honesty, and they make decisions that are not just legally compliant but also ethically sound. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 The most successful accountants are lifelong learners. They stay updated on industry trends, new regulations, and best practices. They invest in their own professional development through courses, certifications, and attending industry conferences. Continuous learning ensures that they remain relevant and at the top of their game. Remember, success in accounting isn’t just about the numbers. It’s about the skills and mindset you bring to the table. What other qualities do you think are essential for success in the accounting profession? Let’s discuss in the comments!