| The problem and solution are clear to you but not to the client. Malcolm Sleath of 12boxes suggests how to organise your own mind, before getting the client to be clear in theirs.
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| How to focus the client on the issue to be addressed |
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| | By Malcolm Sleath
Question: The
meeting had only been
running for 20 minutes or
so before a fully-formed
solution seemed to pop
into my head. But it was
clear that the client
hadn’t really grasped the
true nature of the
problem he was talking
about. I bought time by
saying that I’d think
about the issues he had
raised for a day or so
and we arranged another
meeting. But how do I
start the meeting off? If
I talk about my solution
he is not going to see
the significance of what
I am talking about.
Answer: It is very
tempting for consultants
to adopt a classroom
mindset, where the client
is a teacher awarding a
gold star to the first
child to come up with the
right answer. But, as you
have discovered, before
you can convince the
client of the value of
your solution, you first
have to sell the problem.
This doesn’t mean that
you invent one, but
simply draw the client’s
attention to a problem
that already exists.
You did the right
thing in buying time.
Some writers on
consulting advocate that
you should always ‘go
away and think about it’
because clients are
likely to distrust a
solution that appears
without much apparent
thought behind it.
At the next meeting,
your task is to take the
client’s thinking from
where it is now to a
point they can see why
something needs to be
done. Here are four
points that you need to
consider before the
meeting.
1. Be clear in your
mind about what is
currently happening and
what should be happening.
There are two basic
scenarios. Either
performance is falling
below the standard
required to achieve a
desired outcome, or the
performance is meeting an
agreed standard, but in
reality is not sufficient
to achieve an aspiration.
The latter case is quite
common where a client
erroneously believes that
they will achieve their
goal by ‘doing more of | |
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| | the same’, when they
really need to be doing
something quite
different.
2. Think about
expressing your solution
in terms that will mean
something to the client,
and not the technical
terms that might mean a
lot to you but not to the
general population. For
example, an HR solution
might be expressed as: “a
way of helping managers
to understand how their
performance impacts on a
wide range of people in
the organisation so they
can see where they are
being effective and where
they need to improve
their performance”,
instead of “a 360°
feedback exercise”.
3. Qualify the project
in your mind by looking
at the downside of not
addressing the issues in
an effective way. Think
in terms of a ‘worst case
scenario’. Clients will
often minimise or
discount the impact of an
issue when they are
unsure about the risks of
tackling it. In this
instance, borrow the
maxim of the
cross-examining lawyer
and never ask a question
unless you know what the
answer is going to be.
You will have to lead the
client to appreciate the
true significance of the
problem, and you should
not appear to be
blustering and making
things up on the spot.
4. The fourth question
you should ask yourself
is, “Why, if this issue
is so obvious to me, has
the client not thought
about it or done
something about it
before?” You have
explained that the client
does not appear to
recognise a problem that
you can see quite
clearly. Is it a question
of ignorance, or a
wrongly held belief? Is
the client minimising the
issue in their mind
because they don’t know
what to do about it? Does
the client have doubts
about the capacity of the
organisation or the
people in it (including
themselves) to change? Is
it that the client simply
can’t imagine how things
would be different?
Now let’s look at the
beginning of the next
meeting. It sounds as if | |
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| | the client has been
expressing discomfort
about the present
situation without much
focus. During your next
session you need to focus
the client on the
specific issues to be
addressed.
Two questions can help
do this. The first you
have prepared for: “What
should be happening and
what do you see happening
now?”
The second is to take
the ‘whinges and moans’
and get the client to
articulate a clear
problem: ‘What kind of
problems does this create
for you now?’ Notice the
focus on the present
tense. The best way to
get an unfocused client
to confront long-term
issues is to start with
the ‘here and now’. If
nothing else, exploring
the current situation
will give you many clues
as to why the client has
not addressed the issues
before.
When the client has
expressed the gap between
what is happening and
what should be happening
in his own words, and
articulated specific
problems that he is
encountering now, you can
summarise his situation,
show that you understand
why he is uncomfortable
and summarise the current
problems. Once you have
agreement on the ‘here
and now’ you can ask a
question such as, “What
will happen if this
situation remains
unaddressed?” This should
take you on the path to
discussing the worst case
scenario.
You might think that
you should focus on the
opportunities and not the
downside, but bear in
mind that people seem to
pay more attention to the
prospect of loss than the
prospect of gain.
Once you have the
client’s attention on the
significance of the
issue, you can show that
you understand why it has
not already been
addressed and present
your solution in everyday
language. This also means
that you don’t have to
give away the technical
aspects of your proposal
until you can see real
signs of commitment. | |
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