Over at /Message, Stowe Boyd has posted two rules he sees as critical for the kind of work he and I do – that of advising and assisting organisations with their social computing strategies (among several other things in a similar vein). Having had some disappointing experiences of late, Stowe has two rules, that I have to say I agree with wholeheartedly:
- Spend at least a full day with all the principals before taking aboard a new client, and head off vision problems at the start.
- If your clients don’t take the majority of your advice, you should walk away. If you are right, they will fail (and why spend your time there); they they are right, they owe none of their success to you.
Opening his discussion of the rules, he says:
- If you are in the business of providing advice, you want to hook up with people that want to listen to — and respond to — the advice you give. Otherwise, what’s the purpose of the relationship? I don’t want to mooch: I want to contribute, not simply to rubberstamp the status quo…
- Always set up an initial full day of consultation with a client, involving all the members of the management team, so that all involved can see how the relationship might work, so that all involved can review the situation and plans for the future, and that an action plan for working together can be set worked out…
From the experiences Stowe relates, he illustrates the value of these rules and the lessons he has learned. I think they’re incredibly valuable and something I also intend to adopt.
According to dopplr, Stowe will be at home (and attending Office 2.0) in San Francisco when I’m there in a couple of weeks speaking at the same conference. I’m hoping to get the chance to meet him, at least for a quiet drink and a chat.
