As a consultant, I’m always on the look out for GREAT clients.
(And yes, there is a marked difference between GOOD clients and GREAT clients.)
Good clients are friendly, pay on time, and get along with you. GREAT clients, on the other hand, operate out of a big WHY. They have a central drive that influences and drives their activity. Great clients are always looking to grow, or improve. They pull meaning (i.e. perspective, consciousness, awareness) into their day to day life.
I work hard to be a GREAT consultant.
Good consultants brings a high level of skill and experience to the table. GREAT consultants, however, bring more than that. They bring a drive to understand your bigger picture. They want to know the big WHY behind your business. They want to know how solving your problem will contribute to that WHY.
During the interview process, my radar is way up.
When I’m interviewing with a prospective client, there are a few things I’m on high-alert for. In my mind, I’m constantly looking for hints from you. These hints give me insight into how I can be a GREAT consultant.
- What type of problem do you have? When the problem you’re dealing with is related to high-volume work, the Lean and Six Sigma philosophies I use can create brilliant results. If your problems are related to low productivity, variability in performance, high level of defects (whether identified internally or externally). Additionally, the issues I can help solve might look like a persistent problem that individuals haven’t been able to fix.
- What sort of worldview do you carry? Great clients recognize that their problem is an opportunity to improve and get stronger. And, they’re able and willing to try things out – even outside-the-box, open-minded type ideas. What is your general opinion of your employees?
- How do you treat your people? Great clients want to improve morale and bring together their team. That desire drives their willingness to listen for awesome ideas – which could come from anywhere. They are collaborative in brainstorming solutions , and prepared to implement suggestions quickly. Also, great clients take care of and appreciate their people. They work to help their employees understand how their work influences the big picture goals.
- What are you willing to invest? This question is about so much more than the price tag. Are you willing to invest the right amount of time up front to discern whether or not I’m the right fit? Are you willing to invest energy in tracking and measuring success and progress towards the goals? Are you willing to invest in the process by giving access to data that I might need (data records, employee interviews, etc)?
I design solutions for difficult problems. That’s what I do as a Lean/Six Sigma consultant. Generally speaking, that process breaks down into a few pieces: problem identification, project scoping and definition, root cause analysis, solution testing, and solution implementation.
I’m driven to be more than just a good consultant. I’m driven to be GREAT.
