Yesterday morning, thanks to a snafu on my boss' part and a lack of communication on my part, we had a room full of clients in Atlanta at 7:00 a.m. whereas my boss thought the meeting started an hour later (i.e., she wasn't there). I apologized profusely but my client was totally cool about it. Actually, I was so mortified that I must have apologized a hundred times.
Today, I received a box full of fresh, gourmet strawberries dipped and molded into various animal shapes, along with a note that said, "We've all had an off day, here's to today being better!"
I also liked the message on the packaging (which, of course, I botched with my unpacking and my mad photography skills).
What a really, really nice and thoughtful gesture, no?!
Yesterday, one of my favorite clients, who is roughly my age, was telling me that he couldn’t schedule our next conference call for Friday because it conflicted with his guitar lesson which is sacrosanct. I shared that my hubby played lead guitar in a bunch of bands and asked him if he, too, had guitars and amps in his living room (i.e., not bearing the Martha Stewart seal of approval). Nope, he built an entire studio/band pit in his basement, complete with drum set, so no one would have to lug gear to his house in order to jam. Must be nice, huh!
Client: I bet your husband and I would get along great.
Me: What kind of music do you play?
Client: My son plays in an alternative band but I think our band is leaning toward Christian rock.
Me: Christian rock? Yeah, you haven’t met my husband. I don’t think he and you would get along that famously . . .
Client: Well, I also play a lot of Rush, Led Zeppelin, The Stones and The Who.
Game, set, no match.
On a related note, this song never gets old. Never.
I think Facebook should branch out into Clientbook. That way, whenever a client is touched (so to speak), the person in the organization who spoke/met with the client can update the status.
Bob: "Just spoke with the lead engineer. Putting in formal change control request and updating the statement of work."
Then anyone in the company can get an immediate, qualitative dashboard of all client-facing activity and further click on any one client for a deeper dive.
I've been working with so many client tools and systems over the years but nothing I've seen is as quick and immediate as Facebook.
I just received a package of financial statements that my client rendered in Comic Sans. It's a bit hard to take a P&L seriously when it's coming from Wolverine.
Maybe I'll design my bar charts out of hearts (where trending is favorable) or possibly employ some sad emoticons (where the data appears less advantageous).
I ran across this simple quote from Annie Dillard and it made me gasp:
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
Is this really how I want to spend my life?
I was speaking with a potential client last week and, at the end of our professional conversation which went extremely well, I shared a silly story with him. He politely stood up to leave and I was immediately stricken with self-doubt and loathing. I was asking myself on the drive home and well into the night, "Why did you have to add that last part?" or "Why can't you learn to keep your mouth shut?" WWSD? (Insert boss' name instead of Jesus.)
My boss and I talked about this scenario on our way home from another client in the Adirondacks late last night. She had a similar experience with him and felt much the same as I. A little comforting but it still begs the question: Am I living my life with integrity?
Am I being myself? Can I find a so-called career that better suits me? While I'm increasingly more comfortable in a stifling professional environment, I want more. Half the time, I feel like I'm pretending to be someone else.
I really do love my clients. I want them to succeed. I enjoy helping them.
But can't I do it with a hint of personality, too? Or is that unacceptable?
I also liked the message on the packaging (which, of course, I botched with my unpacking and my mad photography skills).
