By Michael W. McLaughlin
When you learn that you’ve won a project, your client will likely congratulate you and express optimism about your upcoming work together. Clients may not be as forthcoming, though, with other choice words they have for their new consultants.
If you asked your clients to put what they’d like to say to you in a letter, you’d probably hear much more than just best wishes for a successful project. Such a letter might go something like this:
To: Our New Consultant
Let me begin by congratulating you on winning the project. We thought long and hard before we decided which consultant would be the best to work with us, and we strongly believe that you are the right choice.
Our executive team is excited about what we’re about to do and your role in helping us achieve our goals. Obviously, you know that every client hesitates before bringing in outsiders. So to smooth the way, I thought I’d lay out a few simple thoughts that can help us all be successful as a team.
Most likely, what I’m about to say won’t come as a surprise to you. But I’ve learned the hard way that, contrary to some popular wisdom, it is important to sweat the small stuff, especially if we want to avert big problems down the road.
Even Small Projects Make Waves
When you arrive at our site to begin work, you will be the subject of intense attention and speculation, even by those who aren’t part of the project. People are naturally curious about (and often suspicious of) outsiders, so you should understand that everything you do is under scrutiny by others.
And, trust me. People are talking about you. No matter how much we tell them about why you’re here and what you’re doing, they will still talk. You’re likely to be unaware of most of that talk, but I will hear all of it. I’m sure you’re used to that, but it’s easy to slip up.
If you’re on the phone, for example, talking to a colleague or another client, someone is bound to hear you. They may overlook a quick call, but please be mindful: If you spend too much time on other business, they’ll begin to ask why you’re conducting that business at our expense. I understand that you have other irons in the fire, but not everyone else does. When you’re in our offices, you have to focus on us, not your other clients.
Also, if you talk publically about our people, the grapevine will pick it up. If someone is uncooperative in an interview, or dodges you because of “essential” meetings, watch who you mention it to. We want to hear your feedback on our people–just be sure we hear it from you and not from someone else.
But most importantly, don’t forget for a second that everything you do and say reflects back on me. I hired you, after all, and everyone knows that. When there’s any kind of problem, it gets back to me, over and over again.
Check Your Ego
This isn’t exactly a newsflash, but many people believe that consultants are an arrogant bunch of know-it-alls. Whether it’s true or not is irrelevant. What matters is that even a whiff of self-importance will get you into trouble.
We’ve all seen consultants who are legends in their own minds, and the damage that attitude creates. Besides being difficult to work with, a know-it-all cuts off the free flow of ideas, stifles team creativity, and is just too high-maintenance to tolerate.
Of course, I’m not referring to you. But you might bring others along with you I haven’t yet met. Unfortunately, people who need this advice the most are the least likely to heed it. But here’s what I need you and your cohorts to do. First, treat everyone you meet with respect, no matter what role they have in our organization or your perception of their value.
Second, you may know more than we do about the issues we’re facing, but there’s no need to constantly prove it. Believe me–we know that you know more. That’s why you’re here. Just don’t expect everyone to explicitly acknowledge the fact; it may be threatening to some people, or others may not agree that you know more. Your job is to help us get the work done, not show us up.
And if you’re helping with a problem we created, there’s no need to continually remind us of that fact either. Nor is it appropriate for you to point the finger at one or more individuals who caused the problem, unless we ask you. The chances are good that we already know and are dealing with it in our own way.
Knowledge Is Power
We understand that lots of consultants believe that they can solve any problem, no matter what it is (see above about ego). And we know that there’s value in applying the lessons from other industries to the issues we face here. But you better make sure anyone you bring to the team knows both our industry and our specific issues.
Some might make the argument that a consultant’s talent, problem solving skills, deep knowledge, and experience facilitating teamwork are enough to compensate for a lack of rudimentary knowledge of our industry. But that argument won’t fly. You’ll save time and strengthen our relationship if you bring us people who know what they’re doing.
Harnessing Chaos
Speaking of knowing what you’re doing, it’s essential that you have processes, strategies, and tools for getting us from point A to the end of the project. We don’t need an encyclopedic project plan, but we’ll need something that we can look at to see how you’ll manage your time, conduct your work, and keep us informed as to what is happening on the project.
We know that creating new ideas for solving tough problems is often a chaotic process that unfolds in fits and starts. Help us understand what we should expect. Obviously, we’re not buying a methodology from you. We want results. But we do expect that you have a method for taming the madness, and we’ll want to know about that as early in the project as possible.
Let’s Not Get Ahead of Ourselves
Everyone understands that you have a business to run and that one of your objectives is to sell us more of your company’s services. We anticipate that you’ll scout around, looking for opportunities to bring us “value.” You may even tee up unsolicited proposals for our consideration. We also know that you’ll try very hard to build relationships with our people. Actually, no one minds that you behave that way as long as you remember a couple of important points.
To begin with, it’s unlikely that we’re going to be keen to sign up for new projects until we’re convinced that you can pull off the one you’re just starting. Sure, we may have unmet needs that you can help us with. And we may encourage you to offer your ideas. But no matter how anxious you are, or how solicitous we seem, don’t lose your focus on what’s in front of you right now. If there’s even a hint of trouble on that project, there won’t be any follow on work.
Second, just because you believe a problem is a high priority, that doesn’t mean we agree. If you push too hard on any specific opportunity after we’ve said that it’s not at the top of our list, don’t be surprised if we stop talking to you about it.
Welcome to Our House
There’s no doubt that what we need you to do is complex and challenging. You may have to make tough decisions on how to best assess some part of our organization, or to implement a controversial change. That’s why we’re paying you to help us. In the course of doing that, things may get tense and some people may bristle at what we need to do.
Let’s not make this more difficult than it needs to be. Remember, no matter how much authority we place in your hands, you’re still in our house. You are our welcome guest. We ask that you work hard for the team, keep your focus on what’s best for our business, tell us what we really need to know, and treat each individual with respect and dignity.
If we sweat the small stuff, the big things will fall into place more easily. Keep these thoughts in mind and we’ll have a successful project and a long, productive relationship.
Sincerely,
Your Client Sponsor
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