When you call a plumber to fix your toilet, your sink, or whatever you’re having a problem with, he arrives at your house, listens to the issue, and gets to work. You sigh in relief and go back to watching TV with the family.
What you don’t do is tell him how to do his job, or dictate to him which tools he’s going to use to do it. If you want to hang out and watch him work, he might tell you that info, but really, what he does and how he does it is up to him.
So it should be with you and your clients. You need to figure out what tools, processes and procedures make you most effective and efficient, and then tell the clients (should the clients care to know) what you’ll be using.
It’s not up to you to fit in to the clients' systems and processes, much less conform to their tool sets, unless they work for you.
Look, no matter what they say they want, clients are expecting you to be the expert. They came to you believing you know more and better than they do. And if you're playing your best game, you should absolutely be the expert. You cannot be the expert and morph yourself into something you’re not, using tools and playing with P/Ps that you know won’t work. The two simply aren’t compatible, and will probably lead you to a rocky relationship with an unhappy and fairly quick ending.
Bit O’Moxie: So pick the tools that you prefer, that you know work best for you, and that allow you to look like a super hero. Tell the clients what you'll be using. And when it comes to tools you need to share, be willing to strongly suggest, (or require, if you’re super moxie-full) that the clients use the tools that work best for you. Chances are, whatever the clients are using isn’t working well for them to begin with, and they’ll be open to what you suggest. And if not, and you know what's being used won’t allow you to do your best work, be willing to walk away from the engagement. Remember, not playing is still a win/win.
Comments