"O, ain't you glad you're single"
I am constantly being reminded of the advantages of being a sole consultant. The title to this posting comes from a song that I was taught in music as a boy.
Skip Angel, who is a CTO and only indirectly involved in marketing, is one of my favorite writers of "think" pieces. He also writes articles that don't relate to my areas of interest, but he frequently produces writings that should be read by anyone who is "in business."
He wrote an article entitled "Delivering On Your Promises." The article describes how companies damage customer relations due to promises being made by one individual which the organization at large is either not equipped to handle, does not consider of highest priority or tries to fulfill in panic mode therefore corners are cut to meet the deadline.
The subtext of the article is that Corporate Culture must be guided by policies which help the individual to know the parameters of acceptable commitments while also providing a system for adapting to meet unexpected customer requests. Skip gives a list of guidelines which he believes companies should impose in order that they might be accountable to both their representatives and their clients.
Its a great article. But its also just one more reason to be glad that I am not a part of a large organization. Even a partnership can be a pain in the neck when your values and your partners values clash. I frequently hear "horror" stories about partnerships gone bad.
The one thing that I know that I can deliver my clients is integrity. Even though it means that I turn down a lot of projects (I probably have turned down more projects in the last four years than I have accepted) and even though my integrity requires me to tell a prospect up front things which may jeopardy, I know that no organization or partner can compel me to do something which would compromise my integrity.
Recently, one of my alliance partners, Gilbert Nieuwenhuis, who is a business coach referred a client to me whose website had many problems. I found eight areas in which I could provide immediate assistance to Gilbert's client - however, there was one area in which I could not provide assistance which could cause all my work to be unprofitable to this company. I do not write copy. I have allies who write copy and I am quite willing to refer a client to a writer but this client had set a budget which was too low to accomadate the areas that needed attention on his website and to also purchase the services of a writer.
If I had been part of an organization or a partnership, I would have been duty bound to "go for the sale" regardless of the client's needs. But because I work solo, I was able to write a paragraph at the beginning of my proposal that clearly stated that the client's website needed a writer to be productive.
I still have not heard back from this prospect. And although I really really want this project, I am very happy to know that what I did was right. This has been my attitude since I started this business and it will continue to be my attitude, "Integrity before Revenue."
Sure it means that I make a whole lot less money than I could make, but I have no difficulty living with this choice and my clients are certain of my reliability.
Organizational Integrity is much more complex than personal integrity, but as a solo consultant that is not an issue.
If you are a Solo Consultant who also values your integrity, view this as one of the advantages whenever you start envying "the big boys." If you are a company who uses outsourced resources, remember that even a CEO who possesses personal integrity can not guarantee organizational integrity if the rest of the company is made up of people who do not value personal integrity.
One of the things that Demming taught about Quality is that companies should quit shopping every purchase order for bargain basement prices and instead develop longlasting relations with a small pool of suppliers who consistently deliver quality. Sure, it appears to be costlier when you see the invoice but through the years, quality pays off. Personal Integrity is an intangible form of Quality.
Skip Angel, who is a CTO and only indirectly involved in marketing, is one of my favorite writers of "think" pieces. He also writes articles that don't relate to my areas of interest, but he frequently produces writings that should be read by anyone who is "in business."
He wrote an article entitled "Delivering On Your Promises." The article describes how companies damage customer relations due to promises being made by one individual which the organization at large is either not equipped to handle, does not consider of highest priority or tries to fulfill in panic mode therefore corners are cut to meet the deadline.
The subtext of the article is that Corporate Culture must be guided by policies which help the individual to know the parameters of acceptable commitments while also providing a system for adapting to meet unexpected customer requests. Skip gives a list of guidelines which he believes companies should impose in order that they might be accountable to both their representatives and their clients.
Its a great article. But its also just one more reason to be glad that I am not a part of a large organization. Even a partnership can be a pain in the neck when your values and your partners values clash. I frequently hear "horror" stories about partnerships gone bad.
The one thing that I know that I can deliver my clients is integrity. Even though it means that I turn down a lot of projects (I probably have turned down more projects in the last four years than I have accepted) and even though my integrity requires me to tell a prospect up front things which may jeopardy, I know that no organization or partner can compel me to do something which would compromise my integrity.
Recently, one of my alliance partners, Gilbert Nieuwenhuis, who is a business coach referred a client to me whose website had many problems. I found eight areas in which I could provide immediate assistance to Gilbert's client - however, there was one area in which I could not provide assistance which could cause all my work to be unprofitable to this company. I do not write copy. I have allies who write copy and I am quite willing to refer a client to a writer but this client had set a budget which was too low to accomadate the areas that needed attention on his website and to also purchase the services of a writer.
If I had been part of an organization or a partnership, I would have been duty bound to "go for the sale" regardless of the client's needs. But because I work solo, I was able to write a paragraph at the beginning of my proposal that clearly stated that the client's website needed a writer to be productive.
I still have not heard back from this prospect. And although I really really want this project, I am very happy to know that what I did was right. This has been my attitude since I started this business and it will continue to be my attitude, "Integrity before Revenue."
Sure it means that I make a whole lot less money than I could make, but I have no difficulty living with this choice and my clients are certain of my reliability.
Organizational Integrity is much more complex than personal integrity, but as a solo consultant that is not an issue.
If you are a Solo Consultant who also values your integrity, view this as one of the advantages whenever you start envying "the big boys." If you are a company who uses outsourced resources, remember that even a CEO who possesses personal integrity can not guarantee organizational integrity if the rest of the company is made up of people who do not value personal integrity.
One of the things that Demming taught about Quality is that companies should quit shopping every purchase order for bargain basement prices and instead develop longlasting relations with a small pool of suppliers who consistently deliver quality. Sure, it appears to be costlier when you see the invoice but through the years, quality pays off. Personal Integrity is an intangible form of Quality.
posted by Shewmaker at 3:08 PM
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