Last week I wrote about the turning point in my life where, even though I didn’t realise it at the time, I’d switched from playing the business game to playing the practice game.

In a nutshell a practice is all about you. In a thought leader’s practice you may have a couple of support staff, but it is your job to think, sell and deliver. You make money from your own exertion, commercialising your expertise. Selling your thoughts, as we say in the book.

One of the big challenges running a practice is that you get well meaning, bad advice from people who know the business game, but not the practice game. The three most common examples are:

You’ve got to stop swapping your time for money. No, in a practice, that’s what we do. (We just have to make sure it’s enough money to meet our revenue goals).
Get your name off the door. No, a practice is a relentless positioning campaign around yourname.com, and your brand.
You have to build something you can sell. No, we are looking to get paid well and build assets outside the practice, not build equity in a business.

They are very different games. We’re not saying the practice game is better (even though it is J), just be very clear about which game you’re playing. And equally importantly, make sure you are getting advice from people who know that game.

Love to hear your thoughts – what well-meaning bad advice have you received? You can leave them below.