For associates and newly minted partners alike, the journey to rainmaker can seem as easy as scaling Mount Everest in the dark, without a light, equipment, or a Sherpa. While there's an abundance of information today about how to become a rainmaker (and, for that matter, how to climb Mount Everest), actually doing so is difficult. There's a reason there are so few rainmakers among so many attorneys in private practice.

To continue the mountain climbing metaphor, rainmakers become rainmakers because they understand the need to climb the business development side of Mount Rainmaker at the same time they climb the thought leadership side of that mountain. They understand that business development and thought leadership complement each other by working in harmony to help them build and nurture relationships with current and prospective clients and referral sources. Most importantly, rainmakers take action on this understanding by consistently and intelligently investing time in both business development and thought leadership.