Don’t be concerned about being right or wrong. Only be concerned about finding and advancing the best argument.
When you advance the best argument, you advance your interest as well as the interest of your company, your family, your client and your industry, regardless of what the person or enterprise you are dealing with ultimately decides to do.
As a young lawyer just starting to practice law, I took cases that were not necessarily winners, in order to be able to survive, but especially when my heart was behind them.
Needless to say, I lost a number of those initial cases. But when I did, the judges would compliment me on the way I presented the cases. One time, when I felt comfortable with a particular judge who congratulated me on a great job, I asked him how it could possibly be a great job when I lost.
He said, “You know, for you it’s about winning or losing, but for me it’s about making the right decision. The better the job you do, the more self-confident I am that I have made the right decision. My biggest worry occurs when lawyers are not good. Because then, I have to think about what I might have missed. When you’re arguing in front of me, Larry, I may not give you the decision, but I’ll know I got the best arguments you had.”
My message to each of you is the same.
Leadership is all about advancing the best argument you have for your position. Don’t worry about whether it ends up being accepted or rejected. If you believe it, advance it. Give it your heart and soul. If it wins, wonderful. But even if it loses, the people you are dealing with will have gained respect for you and your sense of commitment to what you believe in. That is always a plus.
Original writing date: April 2004