Requiring clients to step up and be responsible

One of the things I do on Twitter is share tips for having strong standards—moxie-filled standards, if you will. If we're not connected there, please say hi!

Last week, I shared this:

Clients need to be able to run their own businesses. Don’t take on more than is yours.

Pat tweeted back and asked this: "Can you elaborate on 'don't take on more than is yours'? How do you recognize the line"

So I’m gonna go for that today since there was no way to answer the question in 140!

A business owner has the ultimate responsibility for everything having to do with that business. But the truth is that many business owners are ill prepared to own businesses.

Sure, they have some mad skills and knowledge that they know they can parlay into services or products that their market wants. What most of them do NOT have is any knowledge of how to run a business (big surprise).

And so they skip over foundation building, and go right into the heart of whatever it is that they created their businesses to do.

The problem is that they have stuff that needs doing that they often don’t know how to do, don’t feel equipped to do well, or simply really don’t want to do.

And that’s beautiful for us because our businesses are built for people like that—but only to a point.

You cannot let a client abdicate responsibility for his business to you. So decisions that are even pretty big, or that have consequences should ALL be made by the client—not given to you to make (there's that line, Pat!).

And chances are a client will try. Because what lots of biz owners want is a knight in shining armor who will ride in, take on the dragons, and save the kingdoms from the disaster that surely would have rained down upon them if the biz owners had had to do it themselves.

And the clients will try harder in areas where they believe you have expertise. Don’t take on more than is yours—it puts you at an increased risk of liability that you absolutely don’t deserve.

It’s great to share your thoughts. It’s a-ok to present a variety of options. It’s lovely to even share what you would do if it were up to you. And it's wonderful to use your own mad skills in service to the client in ways that make sense. But clients need to run their own businesses, so please don’t let them saddle you with the decision making that really needs to be theirs. That will never, ever make sense. Their businesses-their decisions. That’s the way it needs to be for many reasons, not the least of which is the long-term health of their businesses!

Create a standard that makes it clear to you and to your clients that you won't take on anything that's not yours. Call the clients forward into their own greatness, and if they need help running their businesses, consider suggesting ways for them to get that--do they need classes, or coaching? Would a few great books on a topic be helpful?

Bit O’Moxie: Supporting clients is one thing. Enabling them to abdicate responsibility is very much another. Don't be an enabler.

Comments

[Heather Villa]

Excellent point. You can give them options and suggestions, but in the end the decision has to be theirs.

[Pat Keahi]

Thank you for elaborating on this topic - I'm going to disagree with you :) - it could have been done in less than 140 for me to get it: Don't be an enabler. That's the "POW!" for me - those few powerful words.

But, I'm glad you gave it >140, because this is good stuff.

I have a problem with this with not one but two clients - so I just realized that, it's not them, it's me. For one, I see they are missing foundations; I try to build that for them. I then expect them to do best practices, since it's now set it up. mistake. I see that now. They have to want to do that themselves, they have to do it themselves, or delegate to me the reasonable tasks, not decisions.

The other is an "idea guy": here's my idea, go make it happen. But, I can see that many of the decisions about making it happen, need to be made by the biz owner.

These situations have been really stressful as I've been trying to figure out what is the root problem. Got it now: I'm an enabler. but not for much longer.

Goes to show - lots of experience and many happy customers, and there's still so much to learn.

Thanks again!