If you consider yourself a subject matter expert (which you are – possessing a wealth of knowledge on a particular subject), it is easy to believe that you need to come to the table (or conversation) with amazing, brilliant, and FINISHED ideas. After all, that’s what you are being paid for, right? You need to be the one with completed thoughts; you need to be the one with great stuff! For the most part, this is how you have made your living, and it works. However, there are times when letting go of this position and showing up with partially formed, half-baked, or, dare I say, “foolish” ideas is the best thing to do in service of the work (and the relationship).
Recently, we worked with a Fortune 100 company to plan and deliver a conference for 300 of their engineers. We were nervous going in (imposter syndrome) and wanted to impress, but we discovered that the anxiety was misplaced. This client was one of the most delightful and inspiring ones that we have worked with in a long time. Why? Because they didn’t have all the answers, and they didn’t expect us to have them either. What they had was a desire to CO-CREATE with us, and this made all the difference.
Our first few meetings involved identifying desired outcomes for the event (which is always a great first step). Then, we shared first impressions and “terrible ideas” for how to meet these objectives. This was unusual in our experience (and really fun). Often, these first few meetings involve some level of status jockeying, with the client making it clear that they have the final word on all decisions, and the consultant (us) trying to prove that is what a good idea that they were hired in the first place. Neither is helpful and creates a whole slew of distractions from the real goal (in this case, putting on an awesome, interactive experience for the participants).
Recently, we worked with a Fortune 100 company to plan and deliver a conference for 300 of their engineers. We were nervous going in (imposter syndrome) and wanted to impress, but we discovered that the anxiety was misplaced. This client was one of the most delightful and inspiring ones that we have worked with in a long time. Why? Because they didn’t have all the answers, and they didn’t expect us to have them either. What they had was a desire to CO-CREATE with us, and this made all the difference.
Our first few meetings involved identifying desired outcomes for the event (which is always a great first step). Then, we shared first impressions and “terrible ideas” for how to meet these objectives. This was unusual in our experience (and really fun). Often, these first few meetings involve some level of status jockeying, with the client making it clear that they have the final word on all decisions, and the consultant (us) trying to prove that is what a good idea that they were hired in the first place. Neither is helpful and creates a whole slew of distractions from the real goal (in this case, putting on an awesome, interactive experience for the participants).
