Lessons Learned

You can be 100 percent, absolutely, perfectly right about something but if the client isn't ready and willing to listen, you may quickly find yourself floundering in a no win situation.

I try to advise clients on what I honestly feel will help place them on the path to success. But sometimes it isn't what you say but when and how you convey the information.

Sure we can communicate in more ways than ever - cell phones, email, IM, texting etc. - but trying to respond to any or all of those while you are in the midst of a stressful situation, on deadline with another project or handling a personal matter of a somewhat sensitive nature may cloud your communication skills and prevent the right message from being received. Same goes for the client so be prepared for them to be unavailable or unable to clearly comprehend what you have to say at that moment.

Take a breath. Give yourself 24 hours to respond to avoid confrontations and deal with issues calmly and strategically. Let the emotional response fade and the intellectual response come to the forefront.

Be flexible. The client isn't always right. And neither am I. But just being right isn't enough. Try to see it through the other person's eyes. Try listening to what you are saying through their ears. Try analyzing the proposed actions through their context.