by Lee Fried, on 28 Mar 2007 04:43 pm
The Journey
Speaking French
For those of you that are consultants have you ever had a meeting with a client where you really wish you could start all over? That is exactly what happened to me today. My job is to help bring clarity and new knowledge/perspective to others work. I had a meeting today where I only confused and frustrated those that I was trying to help. As I walked out of the room I realized just how far off I was and it must of sounded like I was speaking french.
Why? Mainly because I was not able to put myself in the shoes of those I am trying to help. The group I met with today is one of my favorite client groups of all time and is one of the first groups that I ever worked with as a green consultant. A while back I helped this group get started with some basic training and a single RPIW. Since then this group has done amazing things on their own with very little support. I really respect their courage and their willingness to keep going. On occasion I meet with them to give them a consult as they continue to progress with their work and today was one of those days.
Since the last meeting with this group I have been deeply engaged in the Model Line work and my level of competency and knowledge has expanded, but I guess I have forgotten my consulting skills along the way. Today this was evident. From the very start of the meeting I was making statements that would only make sense to those that have been along on the journey with me. I was trying to describe how to complete a Value Stream map for a complicated IT process and all of the examples I provided required first had experience to understand. By the time the meeting was over I could tell that they couldn’t wait to get me out of there. It is a big lesson learned. To be a good consultant I need to understand where my clients are and come to them as opposed to trying to get them to come to me.