The Client Letter
July 13, 2012
Sedona, Arizona
Cloudy 77 degrees
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I just got off the phone from a client interview where I discovered some major gold for the project we’re working on. Without this skill, I would have never found it.
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I’m in the business of helping my clients create real and quantifiable results.
I hold myself accountable for what happens. But I don’t ultimately control what happens.
Neither do you.
So there’s no reason any sane person would put themselves on the hook for “making sure things work out” with a client project.
There’s no good reason to do that, and yet, we’ve probably all done it.
I know I have.
I remember talking to one mentor on the phone who basically said I was nuts to put myself on the hook for delivering results to a client.
The biggest reason?
It’s downright stupid to make yourself accountable for something you don’t control.
I control whether my work gets done to the best of my ability.
I don’t control what that work produces or fails to produce in the marketplace.
And yet, many times, I’ve accepted the emotional burden that comes when I put myself on the hook for delivering more than I’m in control of delivering.
I know what that feeling is like when you do something like that.
It sucks.
You want the project you are working on with a client to produce huge results for them. But you know what?
You can’t ultimately control whether or not that happens, so stop investing energy in thinking or worrying about it.
I think doing that creates the worst kind of pressure. You wake up in the morning thinking about it. You go to bed at night thinking about it.
I know when I’ve done this, it’s really because, deep down, I just want to be liked. I want someone to call me on the phone and say, “Jason, you did a bang up job. We think you’re the best thing since sliced bread.”
Just a wee bit childish don’t you think? I’m happy to admit I’ve done this in order to help you not do it, but writing it here in black and white really makes it clear just how immature this is.
Do what you can do, and do it to the best of your ability.
You control what you do, you don’t control what comes from what you do. So for that, take no responsibility.
You can be accountable for dealing with what comes, but don’t put yourself on the hook for trying to control what comes.
There’s a big difference.