What can we learn from Epictetus about business development? 

I recently read an excellent little book titled The Art of Living, Sharon Lebell’s modern interpretation of teachings imparted nearly two thousand years ago by Epictetus, a Greek stoic philosopher who spent much of his life as a slave in ancient Rome. Right there on the book’s flaps, I found two passages that easily relate to business development (BD):

“To do anything well you must have the humility to bumble around a bit, to follow your nose, to get lost, to goof. Have the courage to try an undertaking and possibly do it poorly. Unremarkable lives are marked by the fear of not looking capable when trying something new.”

“Behold the world fresh – as it is, on its own terms – through the eyes of a beginner. To know that you do not know and to be willing to admit that you do not know without sheepishly apologizing is real strength and sets the stage for learning and progress in any endeavor.”

To what extent do these excerpts reflect your modus operandi or are they merely vague ideas – perhaps latent desires –, lost in the whirlwind of real and imagined daily priorities?

Inspired by the wisdom of Epictetus, I began thinking about practical business development ideas that lawyers looking to do something truly different in the business world might consider. I put together a list of ten highly practical ideas. You may already be familiar with some or perhaps all of them, but what actual role do they play – or could play – in your day-to-day life? I recommend keeping this question in mind as you read about each one:

1. Block out and schedule time to prioritize BD

Business development needs to shift from being an occasional afterthought in your routine to becoming a regular habit. To achieve this, set aside, schedule and protect at least one hour a week dedicated exclusively to prospecting and relationship-building. Within that time, aim for a roughly 50/50 balance between developing business with current clients and potential ones, but adapt the approach to what works best for you.

Ideally, you would invest much more time, but I believe one hour a week is more than enough to start building a habit that will prove indispensable. If things go well, you will naturally increase the time you spend on BD.

2. Prioritize and segment your network of contacts and relationships

Do not try to do too much at once, as trying to do too much without focus is inefficient. I know it is challenging – we always want everything right now – but without focus and prioritization it becomes extremely difficult to make progress and generate positive results.

The ideal approach is to organize and segment your network, intensely prioritizing a dynamic group of 20 to 30 critical contacts. How do you select them? Prioritize the contacts that make the most sense for your current situation, considering their business potential over the next twelve months. I consider this a good timeframe for preparing your priority list, but feel free to remove or replace contacts at any time, as necessary. After all, you might decide to prioritize someone you just met at an event, only to find that, despite a well-contextualized outreach, the conversation simply does not flow as expected. It happens. It is part of the game and life goes on. That is why the list should be viewed as dynamic.

3. Manage client stakeholders to avoid relying on a single contact

The worst-case scenario is having a major client tied to a single representative who could suddenly leave the company, creating a void in the relationship. To avoid this, map out the most important companies within your portfolio and aim to expand the number of connections you maintain within each. Consider key contacts, including potential successors and people who play different roles and hold differing levels of influence over decision-making.

The standard recommendation is to increase your network from one to at least three strong contacts, though you are best positioned to judge what works for each company and for yourself. If your primary contact does leave the company, try to find out where they are headed. Depending on the context, aim to stay in close touch so you can, to the extent possible, assist them with challenges at their new company or with a potential career move.

4. Do your homework and learn what matters to your clients

Nowadays, legal/technical excellence is the baseline expectation clients have of you and your firm. In an increasingly competitive corporate market, the key differentiator for a lawyer or law firm is a deep understanding of their clients’ businesses and industries.

Therefore, before a meeting, especially with a prospective client, gather as much relevant information as possible from corporate websites, annual reports, ESG documents, investor relations portals, industry news and informal insights, among other sources. This allows you to steer the conversation toward truly strategic topics while always keeping your counterpart’s perspective in mind.

5. Use artificial intelligence as a “second brain”

To accelerate the meeting preparation process mentioned above, try using generative AI tools like Gemini Notebook. Upload recent reports from the target company into the tool of your choice and use well-crafted, specific prompts to quickly identify strategic priorities, potential risks (such as environmental or labor-related risks) and various opportunities – consider factors that could drive business growth or reduce costs, among others. This enables you to arrive at the meeting fully equipped with precise, relevant questions.

Naturally, your performance in business meetings is directly linked to the quality and timeliness of the information gathered, which, in turn, points directly to the sources consulted. Identifying good sources is also part of the job.

6. Develop disruptive “commercial insights”

Rather than focusing solely on generic authority-building content, such as “thought leadership” materials, true opportunity creation arises from so-called “commercial insights.” To this end, and whenever possible, seek to craft provocative approaches that prompt the client to rethink challenges or threats they had previously underestimated or overlooked. Subsequently, directly link the solution to these problems to your firm’s unique and exclusive capabilities.

This is far from a simple task, as developing insights is complex and usually requires collaboration with partners in your own practice area or even in others. If developing distinct insights for specific – and relevant – clients proves too time-consuming, the recommendation is to prioritize a more multidisciplinary approach focused on a specific industry that is highly relevant to your business.

7. Be a “super-listener” in every interaction

When interacting with current and potential clients, as well as with business partners and other key contacts, your focus should be on the other person – your mindset should be one of curiosity and empathy. Therefore, always be a “super-listener”: listen to learn and understand the business context of the person you are speaking with, rather than listening merely to formulate a reply about yourself, your firm and how great you are.

You will certainly have an opportunity to discuss how you can help, but first, give them your full attention and encourage the other person to share as much information as possible so you can get to know them better, as well as their company, priorities and challenges. Pay attention to both what is said and what is left unsaid and ask catalytic questions that keep the conversation engaging and moving forward.

8. Actively foster collaborative cross-selling

In a way, this is the Holy Grail of corporate law practice, yet it is possible to find it and, perhaps, even put it to good use. The sustainable growth of any reputable modern law firm, especially those with dozens or hundreds of lawyers, is directly linked to breaking down silos (and removing disincentives) in favor of greater internal collaboration – ideally without restrictions.

Everyone wins when the “pie” grows – everyone knows this well – yet the fear of taking the first step causes many lawyers to miss out on tremendous opportunities. Many firms are already investing in collaborative cross-selling with great success and excellent financial results, widening the gap between themselves and their competitors.

Whenever a situation suggests needs beyond your specific practice area, proactively involve partners from other practice groups in client conversations to offer joint solutions, an approach highly valued by the market. Of course, cross-selling entails much more than that, but as a step you can take today on your own initiative, there is no better advice.

9. Be persistent with follow-ups and stay top-of-mind

The real magic of relationship-building happens in the spaces between interactions. Did you send an email or a LinkedIn DM to a new contact and get no reply? Do not give up. Did you send a post-event message to someone you met and had a great conversation with, only to receive no response? Do not give up. Did you send a business proposal to a new client but received no feedback whatsoever? Do not give up. Did you message a long-time client who has not replied yet? Do not give up. I could list many other examples, but you know them as well as I do, right?

What matters is how you handle situations where you are left in the dark. Do you just let it go and focus on something else? You probably do, but you should not. That does not mean pestering the person with endless follow-ups until they reply by cursing you and your firm, either. The point is simply not to give up after a single unanswered message or proposal. You need to stay on your contact’s radar – in a positive sense – to carry out the necessary follow-ups that confirm whether or not they are interested in moving forward with the matter at hand.

In other words, follow up consistently and, above all, do not be deterred by initial rejections. If you have a tracking system, yours or your firm’s, make sure to keep it updated. This helps build a commercial record – if not an institutional one, then at least a personal one – to support your daily BD activities.

10. Learn from setbacks by making “loss calls”

When a follow-up results in a negative response, you can still try to maintain a connection with your contact, should you wish to do so. For example, if a proposal has been formally declined, do not hide behind emails or simply consider the matter closed. Make a “loss call” to your contact and try to understand what happened. Did they back out? Is the decision final or temporary? Did they decide to move forward with another firm? Acknowledge the decision with maturity, defuse any tension and take the opportunity to ask for candid feedback on where you and your firm did well and where there is room for improvement.

Actions like this build respect and sow the seeds for future opportunities, especially when dealing with a prospective client. If it is an existing client, particularly a long-standing one, there is every reason to seek a better understanding of the factors behind the decisions made. If this is not something you usually do, now would be a good time to start.

It is worth noting that the ideas above are not hard-and-fast rules but merely suggestions – recommendations for you to consider based on your specific context and strengths. After all, an idea that makes perfect sense and yields excellent results for you might not have the same effect for other lawyers and vice versa.

Returning to the two passages by Epictetus highlighted at the beginning: how do they relate to all these practical BD ideas?

The first passage touches on experimentation, innovation and related activities, and is directly linked to the various ideas shared here. Without exception, all of them require continuous experimentation to generate even modest results. If you have never pursued a particular idea but decide to prioritize it, you will need to experiment – and make plenty of mistakes – before reaching a level of execution and excellence that works best for you and your own style of building relationships, identifying opportunities and generating business.

On the other hand, if it is an idea you have already been implementing successfully for some time, why not look for ways to improve it? Here, both the concept of experimentation and the suggestion to always view the world with a “beginner’s mind”, as mentioned in the second passage, are relevant.

Above all, I hope these teachings from Epictetus serve as a reminder – or reinforcement –, encouraging you to view any of the ten ideas mentioned above from a fresh perspective – or indeed any other activity important to you and your firm. So, now that you know what to do, what new approach will you try?