by Gary Mitchell | Jun 20, 2022 | Coaching, Growing your firm
OnTrac(R) Coach has been named in The Top Ten Business Coaches and Mastermind Groups to help You Grow Your Law Firm, from Smith AI.
“The legal industry is highly competitive. It can take decades to build a strong reputation and a solid firm that gets the kind of business that you’ve always dreamed of or the clientele whose cases you’ve always wanted to assist with. What if you don’t want to wait decades, though? The good news is that today, you don’t have to.
There are several tools and resources out there today to help you accelerate your law firm’s success, including business coaches and mastermind groups that can teach you all the ins and outs of running a law firm and taking care of the “business” aspect of things. Law school is great for learning the laws, but no one prepares you for the business of running a law firm. Not the way you should be prepared, anyway.”
“…The critical case for a business coach
In case you’re still trying to figure out why now is the right time to hire a business coach, think about things like:
- A business coach holds you accountable. They will work with you to set reasonable, appropriate goals and ensure that you can take the steps needed to achieve those goals. They don’t care about feelings or anything else. They care about results, and they will ensure that you get them.
- A coach is going to be honest. Again, they’re not worried about hurting your feelings or being your friend. They will give you the truth and make sure that they are authentic in doing so. No one is going to give you a sugar-coated anything because that’s not going to help you here at all.
- Perspective is another perk that you get from hiring a coach. You get an outside perspective, but you also get the perspective of someone who has been in the industry and knows how to build successful practices. It can give you the chance to re-focus and get your firm back on trac
- Forward-thinking coaches will ensure that you think about the long-term success of your law firm. They will look at things like 5, 10, and 20-year plans, exit strategies, and potential challenges and goals that will come along the way. This is stuff that you might think isn’t important yet, but it can set you up for success.
- Coaches know how law firms succeed, but more importantly, they know how they fail. That kind of insight isn’t easy to come by. There are so many things you can learn by keeping up with those who came before you, including the ones who didn’t make it. Sometimes, that advice is more valuable than the advice about what does work.
- Increased performance will be seen across all areas of your law firm. Whether it’s a solo practice or you’ve got a whole team of attorneys, the firm operating better means that the people will work better. This will continue to help grow your firm and build your reputation.
These are some of the critical reasons that you should consider a business coach. There are so many different providers out there today, from business pros to legal experts and everyone in between. Make sure that you find the one that fits your needs. To help with that, here are the top 10 coaching options for your law firm or practice.”
Read the full article including the top ten list here.
by Gary Mitchell | Nov 9, 2021 | Becoming more strategic, Coaching, Coaching results
Recently I was interviewed for Authority Magazine.
Here is an excerpt.
The coaching industry is now tremendous. It is a 15 billion dollar industry. Many professionals have left their office jobs to become highly successful coaches. At the same time, not everyone who starts a coaching business sees success. What does someone starting a career as a life coach, wellness coach, or business coach need to know to turn it into a very successful and rewarding career?
In this interview series, called “Five Things You Need To Create a Highly Successful Career As a Life or Business Coach” we are interviewing experienced and successful life coaches, wellness coaches, fitness coaches, business and executive coaches and other forms of coaches who share the strategies you need to create a successful career as a life or business coach.
In this particular interview, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Gary Mitchell.
Gary Mitchell is the CEO of OnTrac Coach. He’s worked with some of the biggest law firms and lawyers in the country for over 15 years. His business coaching enables clients to understand how business and law are connected, and become more efficient in their work.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and what brought you to this particular career path?
I’ve had a whole host of different backgrounds, as entrepreneurs often do. I started my first business when I was 25. In the years following I found I was always drawn to roles and businesses that focused on helping others.
It was when I was managing a political campaign, and giving a ton of advice to the candidate that I had a real ‘aha’ moment! I was coaching him on everything — from shaking hands to public speaking, debating, and going on live TV — and I began to watch this person grow and develop before my eyes. It was so exciting to see the advice and tools I imparted on them pay off!
It just so happened that the politician had a lawyer friend who encouraged me to look into the legal industry for coaching, as they have very similar soft skills needs. So, I did some research and found that this was true.
From there it all came together very quickly. I landed my first client within a year of starting down this path. And here we are 15 years, 3 books, and 1 app later!
Read the full article here.
by Gary Mitchell | Jan 30, 2019 | Coaching, On Trac
Over the last 10 months I’ve had the pleasure of working with one of the best clients I’ve had in the 14 years that I have been coaching. So why is this client so good?
He was open and eager to receive help and guidance from the beginning. Even through the busy times, he did what he could in the way of moving things forward. He has a great attitude. Excellent work ethic. He’s smart. Well, you are all smart. But this guy is really smart! Business smart.
He has great instincts. He follows through on homework assigned. He reaches out in between our calls (as instructed but rarely fully leveraged by most of my clients). This guy is fully engaged and committed to getting the absolute most out of working with me. He wants it. Like a star athlete going for the next level, this is rare. I always say, I can show you how, but you have to ‘lift the weights’! He lifts the weights.
He checks all the boxes. He is a great example, actually one of the best I’ve seen, of what can be accomplished when you fully commit to coaching and getting support. You get out of it what you put into it.
Perhaps the most important quality he has, he has a great attitude. More on attitude next week.
Oh, and by the way, he is just entering his 5th year and already showing signs of leadership.
by Gary Mitchell | Jun 6, 2018 | Motivation, On Trac, Thinking Positive
The Dash
by Linda Ellis
“I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning…to the end.
He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard;
are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile…
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.
So when your eulogy is being read
with your life’s actions to rehash,
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent your dash?”
How are you spending your Dash?