| Surprises
are for Valentine's Day, birthdays, anniversaries or for
endings of mystery novels. Surprising your enemy is a valid
military doctrine but communicates poor consulting practice.
In
this essay, we will try to show you how you can gain your
client's confidence by keeping an even keel and how you can
reduce your grief by learning how to reduce what surprises
you. All without any new tools or technology.
One
of the factors driving your clients' emotional state during
a complex technology project is fear: fear of the unknown,
fear of failure, fear of the added work burden and fear of
change. (see note) Throw in a surprise and their emotional
system will be overloaded and unstable.
In
my years of consulting work, I haven't had one client come
and thank me for surprising them. Well, maybe once or twice,
for "good" surprises, but we'll show you how even
those can backfire.
| How
many C's are there in Consulting?
Three.
Consistency, Consistency, Consistency |
Consistency
is the mark of a good consultant. Do what you said you would
do, walk the talk. Make believe or make the client believe
that the next step(s) are predictable. (Better yet, make
them predictable.) Let them know that when they can't be
predicted, you are smart enough to have thought of
contingency plans.
This
is not to say that you should paint only a rosy picture of
the project but one reminiscent of calmness on a pretty
summer morning. The afternoon might have showers - that's
what we have weather forecasts for. The
"unexpected" afternoon deluge? Well, that's why
you have your umbrella with you.
What
does Wall Street hate most? Surprises. Usually, earnings
surprises. One reason is that the lowered earnings will push
the stock price down. Then, when a company has two or more
quarters of downward surprises the investment community
loses faith in the management's ability to forecast the
future of its business. That's what happened to Lucent in
2000.
The
same applies with your clients. Clients want to know what is
expected of them and when. Now that's novel, you may say.
Yes, it works both ways, they tell you what they want and
when, and you do the same. If it's work or data you need
from them, they may need more advance notice than you would
because they are not as proficient as you are, and they have
other work to do.
Similarly,
when you'll need a decision, an action or an announcement by
them, they will need sufficient notice.
Does
that put an unusual burden on you? As in having to plan
their time as well as yours? The short answer is
"yes." Even when you don't know the exact
specifics of what you will ask of them, plant the seed of an
idea by bringing it up as many times as you can. (That's the
"influence" part of managing expectations)
Think
and convey "We'll be ready to discuss the XYZ system by
next Wednesday, it will require about 4 hours of your
time."
Equally
important is "monitoring" your client's
expectations: signs that a particular future action on your
part would surprise them or even have them reverse course.
Here
are some other techniques I have used in the past with
success:
- Make
sure the right people are informed.
- Submit
a confidence factor with your commitments or estimates,
i.e. the degree to which you believe you will be able to
meet that estimate.
- Describe
the scale of work you're expecting of them ahead of
time: Is it a three-page report you want them to OK, or
a 100-page long tome?
- Don't
pull up the "end date" for a commitment, just
as you wouldn't want them to do to you.
- Make
your absences known in advance.
- Don't
make sudden changes in personnel.
And
when they say: "I was pleasantly surprised"?
Now
that should be reason to be proud? Well, you may enjoy
statements like that for a while, but realize that it may be
a back-handed compliment, as in "I never expected much
from this person, what he / she delivered is
. . . OK."
Even
when you have pleasantly surprised your client, as in your
part of the project coming in below budget and a few days
early, keep in mind that too many of these will indicate you
chronically overestimate. Certainly not as bad as
underestimating, but still a good rationale for them to try
to shave down your estimates in the future.
When
should you "warn" them of the happy news? As soon
as is practically possible. This would give them a feeling
of confidence that you will also share the "bad"
news in a timely fashion as well.
Which
you always do, right?
Never
share bad news without an accompanying statement of how you
plan to mitigate or rectify it. "I'm five days late,
but I figured if we redesign the interface, I can make up
the delay in the next two weeks."
Let's
turn the tables now and look at the many ways
your clients will surprise you. Seasoned consultants
anticipate surprises while they try to minimize their
occurrences:
- "Scope
change happens." Don't you wish you could get a
bumper sticker that says that? Expect it, understand it
and learn to deal with it. (Click for
more)
- Assignments
change. Your time is under your client's, your project's
or your employer's control. Don't make long-range plans
that can't be changed. Or if you do, confirm them at
every opportunity.
- Requirements
change. We've seen that happen all to often. You can
learn to deal with that, too.
Those
who give, receive
Keep
up with news about your client's company and industry. Read
their internal newsletter, if there is one. Sign up for news
clippings about them and their industry (Yahoo,
Individual.com.) Share some news with them, if appropriate,
so they will share news from their side with you.
Actively
look for signs that may indicate upcoming change . . .
Strike alliances with people . . . Ask
"Would you let me know when . . ." And most
importantly, learn how to recognize inflection points of the
client's moods. (Click for more)
Be
steady, consistent, flexible and keep an eye out. And watch
a majority of your problems disappear! Remember,
"Dull is good." And Valentine's Day is
February 14.
PS:
What if I told you that "your cost for this article is
$3 per minute for each minute you spent reading it."
(Now that wouldn't be fair or right, it would be downright
unethical. Similar to the emotions you elicit when you
surprise your clients?) But don't worry, I only meant to
illustrate the points above. My only request is that you
give some of my suggestions a try. To voice your opinion,
Click on Forums.
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© 1999, 2000, 2001 Brazos Consulting . You may reprint
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