MONTREAL — I′m nearing the end of my holiday, and I took some time out this week to work again. You never really turn off when things are exciting.
I know that′s a good thing.
I met with a prospective client and had a great bilingual conversation. I don′t know if there will be any work, but I do know that just having a chance to talk was great fun for me.
Here are some of the things it reminded me.
• Good business often requires vision. People can see things that they know are possible, but they′re not sure how to make them happen.
• Managers and executives have heard that it′s “not like this at other businesses“. And they want to change for the better.
• Sometimes there′s a point or a person that they feel they can′t get past. And that barrier takes on mythical, all-powerful proportions.
• Often the people with the vision don′t have the time or the experience to make it work.
So these are all points when the conversations become really interesting.
→ Visionary business people are not a dime a dozen. And those with the vision often don′t have the courage to speak up with their ideas. We love to meet and listen to those people.
→ There′s a belief that “ABC Co do this stuff really well”. And that′s generally not true. We have worked with most of them, and they′re not advertising their troubles… but, boy, do they have them.
→ Barriers, like boogey-men under the bed, usually don′t turn out to be much of a problem in the cold light of day. A good plan and a decent argument will even win over a boss who has “no idea” what you are talking about.
→ Time is what we sell. But it′s also something that you have a lot more of than you think. A bit of help organising and prioritising and most executives find they have loads of time.
[My friend Rod′s wife is the source of one of my favourite business axioms: When you have delegated so much work that you′re not sure why you have a job... then you have delegated about enough.]
All of that feeds into the conversations we have. And they′re genuinely exciting.
/df
