It’s common to hear consultants complain when clients don’t implement the recommendations they work so hard to develop. The reaction of some consultants is to blame the client. Of course, you can usually find a convenient scapegoat in the client environment to explain the failure to act—whether it’s internal politics or poor preparation for the recommended change.
From a client’s perspective, a recommendation might be DOA for two reasons: It’s wrong (or perceived to be wrong); or the implementation plan is unrealistic. In either case, you can often trace the root of the disconnect to an unexpected source: the consultant’s expertise.
Clients hire us because they want the certainty and efficiency that comes with an expert who has “been there and done that.” In fact, many consultants know exactly what they plan to recommend right off the bat. That certainty, which may serve you well in the sales process, can doom a project if you’re not careful.
Though certainty points the way to a recommendation, it can also blind you to underlying issues that will impact a project. The best consultants rely on their expertise, but also cultivate an attitude of uncertainty. They ask questions like, what don’t I know? What am I missing? And, how else might we solve this problem?
Clients do want us to be certain, but it’s our ability to put certainty aside–at least for a little while–that can make the difference between a successful project and the blame game.
Everyone knows that sinking feeling of blowing it under pressure. Maybe it was when you suddenly lost your train of thought in a sales presentation, or a client meeting you flubbed. It happens to all of us, at some point. Usually, we chalk it up to a case of “nerves.”
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