Mountains of Arizona
Sunny 45 Degrees
8:25 a.m.
A very valuable question to ask yourself when issues come up with clients is this one:
“Whose problem is it?”
I’m going to venture a guess that lots of service providers accept responsibility for client problems that are not theirs.
You can choose to do this, but there is rarely a benefit delivered to anyone. In fact, it damages everyone.
When you take on a problem from a client that is not yours to solve, you rob your client of an opportunity to grow or, at the very least, practice the art of self-responsibility.
When you take on a problem from a client that is not yours to solve, you distract yourself from the primary focus you’ve already set for your work with that client.
Most service providers do this to curry favor with clients or to please them or to “overdeliver” or to just feel like they’re worth the money they’re getting paid. I gave up overdelivering because I think that’s a fancy name to avoid having to deal with the inner shit that’s going on inside of us.
Just “overdeliver” and you’ll feel better about yourself!
Solving problems that aren’t yours to solve can get you into serious trouble.
We think it’s going to “mean something.” And we don’t want to say, “No” do we? The clients pay the bills, right?
Wrong. You pay the bills by trading your expertise/product/service/knowledge with others who value THAT more than they value their money.
That’s what pays the bills. Yes, the money comes from the client, but there are a billion sources for getting the money. There’s only ONE of you. And that’s what people are paying for: YOU.
No client is worth your life. No client is worth your soul. No client is worth your happiness.
If you want respect from others, if you want respect from yourself, develop the ability to know where your problems start and where others’ problems begin.