We have all seen those talking head consultants who interview well, are great speakers, and presenters. I’m still trying to figure out how they keep getting business, because pontificating is only good for the C-suite – oh wait maybe that’s how they stay in business & charge the big bucks. Well, what fun is that only talking to the C-suite? In our world of technical consulting & solution delivery we really are not going to get very far if we don’t learn about the customer’s needs.
'We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. ' This quote is attributed to Epictetus, a Greek philosopher who spent his youth as a slave in Rome before gaining freedom after the death of Nero, under whom he served until around 60 AD.
Im a firm believer that listening is critical to consulting and talking doesn’t equal expertise. Sometimes you feel the urge to talk a lot, especially at the beginning of the project because you think it will show your expertise. Trust me here - don’t worry about the customer’s perception of you to start – its not all about you. Really at the beginning of each successful project it is MUCH MORE important to understand what the customer wants to accomplish, what they know & don’t know about the implementation & it’s goals, even their feelings about why we are here.
Next time we will talk about humility, because you definitely need it to put yourself in the back seat sometimes.
Until then, stay safe everyone!
