Why our work matters.

• Author: Sutor, Alycia
• Position: President's Podium

Sometimes I can get so wrapped up in what I need to do that I lose sight of why I'm doing it. Because this issue gives great insight into the nuts and bolts of what we do as legal marketing and business development professionals on a daily basis, I thought I'd remind us why what we do matters.

It's so easy to discount the purpose of our day-to-day work--telling ourselves that we're not saving lives as we would be if we were doctors or humanitarian aid workers. And, while I don't discount the nobility of those professionals' work, I do think we sell ourselves short when we fail to elevate our sight and see how the purpose of our work can matter in the broad scheme of things.

The meaning and purpose of our work is probably different to each one of us. I get incredible motivation and purpose from the belief that I'm seeking to serve and change a profession that has the potential and capability to transform the world for the better. I seek to help lawyers experience themselves differently so the world can experience lawyers differently. I believe that when that happens, our workplaces, our communities and our social fabric has the ability to change for the better. Incredibly optimistic? Maybe. But it's what inspires me and pushes me to go the extra mile. It makes me jump out of bed and want to work (OK, on most days.) It inspires me and provides enormous gratification, meaning and purpose to my work.

In "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us," Daniel H. Pink wrote: "Greatness and nearsightedness are incompatible. Meaningful achievement depends on lifting one's...