How To Pass On Bad News To A Client
you have to pass on bad news.
This may help in handling
what can be a delicate situation.
Recently I had to pass on some bad news to
a consulting client.
She had a deep emotional attachment to a course of action and I gave
the reasons why an alternative would have quicker and longer lasting rewards,
financially.
She agreed it was the logical choice.
But letting go of her dream was the
toughest thing in her career to do.
I picked up on that.
It's dangerous not to acknowledge the other persons concerns
even though she agreed it was the wrong course to take logically.
If you don't help heal the loss, then moving forward can be bumpy
for the both of you.
I spoke to her the next day to talk about it more.
I bought up my experiences that occur more than I'd like to admit,
where I'm drawn to the emotional reason to do something which
defies my logical side.
I also pointed out the story of a singer wasn't getting the recognition
and money he wanted.
But the music that was selling the most he didn't like.
So he caved in.
Wrote a sappy pop song and got a big hit.
From then on he was able to gradually move back to the
music he wanted to write. His fans then started to appreciate
his new take on music they hadn't heard before.
Win win.
She understood those 2 stories.
Then I gave her another.
One about having a passion for something which you have a strong attachment to,
is so hard to let go because it's like the death of a family member or dear friend.
She now got clarity and understanding why it was hurting so much.
Having me show her what was going on
took a BIG burden off her.
You could hear her voice change.
I told that to her.
She said "how do you know the right things to say?"
I jokingly told her it was "male intuition!".
In reality it is having a keen awareness what is going on around you.
I was surprised she said I have more people awareness than the female people she knows.
Yet it's a commonly held belief that women have a better intuition
and awareness of what's going on around their social circle.
Having the awareness of the impact the bad news you at times have to pass on
to your consulting clients, allows you to take the right actions, automatically.
This in turn creates trust, respect and indebtedness.
It's a credit you can draw on later.
Best,
Ewen
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