...and how will you know when you’ve reached it? We all strive for success, whether it is in our professional or personal lives. Unfortunately, we often don’t have a good idea of what success looks like. A few weeks ago, I spoke about creating a vision. Now I think it is important to outline what the success of that vision entails. Envisioning success can be applied to major events - like what you hope to achieve in years to come, or to short term goals - such as completing a project.
Often when I am with clients, I will ask them, “What three words would you use to describe a successful partnership?” I always find it interesting to hear what they have to say and truthfully, sometimes I am caught by surprise with their answer. I am reminded once again, if you really want to know how people feel or what they need, you simply have to ASK them.
I personally feel like those companies in the client services industry put themselves at a great disadvantage when they assume what others need. You are not doing yourself any good by assuming you know what your client wants. In fact, it most likely puts you at a disadvantage. In service, we make the mistake of thinking that by asking questions, we are showing incompetence, because if we really knew our client, we would know what they want. The reality is your client’s needs are changing quickly. What they needed last year or even last week may be changing as I am writing these words.
There is one thing I can promise you. No one ever complains about being asked to share their opinion. I know I can speak from personal experience...why do you think I love this blog so much!
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