Environmental Consultants who “Define the Bullseye”
“Defining the Bullseye”. Have you ever experienced a situation where you did great work but it
wasn’t as valuable to your client as you intended? You worked hard, applied hard-core science,
and really nailed it. At least that’s what you thought.
If you are in a consultative business relationship, you are paid to find answers to questions and
develop solutions to problems.
I’ve felt that gut punch when my best intentions and good work missed the mark. Over time, I’ve come to realize that in those instances, I had been focused on delivering answers and solutions.
But I had failed to adequately define why my client needed me in the first place.
Now, I am deliberate about investing time with clients up-front to understand their why’s before I
get into the what’s and how’s.
I call this conversation “defining the bullseye”. In the absence of a clear understanding of the client’s motives and goals, my chance of hitting their target becomes a shot in the dark. My clients benefit from this too as we both gain alignment of the bullseye.
At that point, all I have to do is roll up my sleeves and go hit it.