Lessons You Need To Know From My Dental Nightmare

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers Lessons You Need to Know from My Dental Nightmare A few weeks ago I had a 7:00 AM dental appointment with Matt, my favorite dentist. Matt is a meticulous dentist and he also is a great guy. But, does anyone get up in the morning and say: “Oh boy I get to see my dentist today?” During the night before the appointment I had a dream that was so vivid it was frightening. In my dream when I arrived at Matt’s office, I learned he and his brother had sold their dental practice to a large national dental firm. I quickly discovered I would not actually be seen by Matt, but instead I would be seen by a dentist appointed to my case that day. I also would not be seen by Julie, the dental hygienist  who cleans my teeth. The new dental firm had a more efficient way to clean teeth. I would be changing chairs to see cleaning specialists who had assigned tasks to do. During my dream appointment, the new dental firm decided to teach their new dentists about grinding down teeth before putting crowns on them. So, a large group gathered while the assigned dentist removed several of my crowns to show off Matt’s dental work. When I woke up in a cold sweat, I sat in bed thinking about the nightmares clients must have. I bet clients do not wake up and say: “Oh boy I get to see my favorite lawyer today.”  What is the lesson from my nightmare? Substitute lawyer and law firm for dentist and dental firm and read the paragraph above again. Can you see how your clients may have a nightmare the night before coming to see your firm? I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.