Too Busy Drowning to Learn How to Swim
Since I blogged the other day about clients not buying in to the solution, I feel compelled to write about another situation. This is the case where the client understands the pain, is not happy about where they are at, but “are too busy drowning to learn how to swim.”
Oh, they want to learn more, but I find I have to be VERY patient with this client, even though I want to point out their situation will get better the faster they learn about the solution I am proposing. But scheduling a meeting with the right people takes weeks or months, and then when I go to do the pitch, another emergency has arisen, and they ask if I can come back another time (at my own expense, of course) to make another presentation.
Working with these clients is a tough decision. I usually have to set a limit on my involvement, to make sure I am not taken advantage of. I look for several things in making this decision. Clearly, one of the factors is communication. If they are actively engaged in a two way discussion, and understand their Undesirable Effects, or they can admit the pain/problems they are experiencing, that’s a plus. Another is their willingness to work with me. If they offer to pay for my trip the next time, or set aside time on a weekend to hear a pitch, that’s also a step in the right direction.
Finally, I look to see if this potential client has the ability to realize that they will be better off if they take the time to take swimming lessons. To that end, they must be able to draw a line, and say that this presentation I am going to give is just about the most important thing this company has to do to improve. I have to see this type of behavior at some point to keep working with this client.
A few never get there. They don’t even get the joke within the title of this blog. They often take about all the emergencies as “one time events,” but then admit they occur two to four times a month. Their management system creates emergencies at a predictable rate as a side effect of their process. Tougher still is the fact that my contact is usually a middle manager who “gets it,” and wants to get off the treadmill. But they are having trouble convincing their leadership and other managers.
This may be due to the fact that a number of these managers are essentially professional “fire-fighters,” and enjoy the challenge that comes with these emergencies. They may actually fear the stability that might be generated by a new process, because their fire fighting skill will not be valued. I look for these signs when faced with “drowning” clients. For these clients, I have to justify it as a “cycle of life” in the business world, and move on.
Lucky, most get it, and with a bit more patience on my part, they set aside the time for swimming lessons, and even for swim practice. For a few, I have dreams of the Olympics…
