9 Lessons From Rock Climbing on How to Run Your Law Firm

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Matthew Childs’ 9 Life Lessons from Rock Climbing

In the above video, Matthew Childs runs through the 9 lessons he learned over 35 years of rock climbing. What is so great about the 9 lessons is how applicable they are to life in general. I wanted to address these lessons and use them as a metaphor for running your law firm (or any business for that matter).

1. Don’t Let Go - Often your mind is telling you to let go of the rock way before your body does. By hanging in there, you will find that creative, alternative solutions to problems will present themselves. The mental hurdle is the toughest to get through. Yes, the long hours and busy work we put into our practice can be grueling, but truly the mental aspect is the toughest, and most important, to break through. Good book on this topic, The Dip by Seth Godin.

2. Hesitation is Bad – Matthew talks about gaining momentum when climbing, by not hesitating too much. This is true with our business or practice as well. I’m not suggesting we make blind decisions without thinking things through. What I am suggesting is that we not be afraid to take a chance, pick a direction, and follow our vision. Gaining that momentum makes a huge difference in overcoming the smaller, unavoidable mistakes that will be made along the way.

3. Have a Plan – While we hear this often, and know sub-conciously we need to do it, it’s easy to get caught up in the day to day tasks rather than zooming out and looking at the bigger picture. What direction do you want to take your practice in? Are you being reactive to external conditions or proactive in what you want to accomplish? A plan needs to be flexible and adapt to the conditions and changes that we can not see now. But to not have a plan in the first place will certainly make things difficult.

4. The Move is the End - When rock climbing, you need to have a plan to get to the top of the climb, but in order to get there you need to be able to complete each individual move. This requires focus on the details and execution of your plan. While the lesson above requires zooming out and having a master plan, this lesson deals with the execution of your steps to achieve that plan. Think through how effecient your systems are, do they allow you and your firm to execute the steps necessary so that you are reaching closer towards your vision of where you want the firm to be.

5. Know How to Rest – Do I really need to say much more about this? It goes without saying that lawyers work long, stressful, hours. Owning your own firm or practice certainly doesn’t decrease the amount of work you do. Often I think people fall into a trap of holding up the amount of hours they work as almost a badge of honor. The truth is, we need balance in our lives. Although this may shift and change over time, we need to make sure we rest ourselves mentally and physically. There is a diminishing return on the quality of our work when we are not getting the rest we need. Sometimes it’s better to shut it down and start fresh again the next day.

6. Fear Sucks - Matthew says that fear sucks because what it means is that you are not focusing on what you are doing, but rather your fear of the consequences of failing at what you are doing. I found this to be especially poignant because while fear can motivate us, if it consumes us it will effect our decisions and drive our focus to be pessimistic. While I believe that cynicism is an important attribute for business and law, pessimism is simply a bad attitude. Fearing failure will paralyze you and stands in the way of achieving the vision you have for your practice.

7. Opposites Are Good - Often we try to follow the most obvious solution to each problem. My take on this is to make sure you surround yourself with people that approach things differently than you do. This fresh or unique perspective will allow for more creative problem solving and a unique way of addressing the issue.

8. Strength Does Not Equal Success – In terms of rock climbing, often times men have a harder time than women because a man tries to pull himself up the rock with his upper body. This isn’t sustainable for any length of time (most of us can’t do 100 pull ups in a row). However, women approach the problem differently and seem to naturally be inclined to use their legs as well (which happens to be the correct way). I think that addressing each problem with brute force isn’t always the right fit. Although this is appropriate in some instances, others require more finesse. Learn what the circumstances call for and adapt accordingly.

9. Learn How to Let Go – I think this is tough for anyone running their own firm or business. This is your baby. You put so much time, effort, and thought into everything that goes on. It’s important to understand when something isn’t working and when to change course. We don’t want to give up prematurely, but at the same time we shouldn’t beat our heads against a wall when it isn’t working out. Understanding when to let go is crucial.