My friend Hal Richman said the other day that he is now in the business of working with clients who are excited about the potential of learning, and who want to see real results from learning initiatives. Working with an auto mechanic view of filling people’s heads with "training" is not where he wishes to spend his time. Life is always short, and Hal’s writings on critical health issues can attest to this. I like Hal’s attitude, and am glad to be his business partner. Another perspective for entrepreneurs comes from Tim O’Brien:
Life as an entrepreneur is a balance between finding solutions for your clients and just working on solutions until the right clients come along. Beating your head against a brick wall trying to sell the latest product/service mix can be a waste of time.
Establishing relationships of trust and solving problems together makes more sense in this complex world of inter-related systems. Once you have trust, you can work together to solve problems; or you can recommend someone else; or at least you can say that you cannot do it. Once trust is established, your client knows that you are not trying to sell something, but are doing what you believe is best. Within a trusting business relationship, you might actually be allowed to screw up once in a while – and so will your client.
Markets are conversations, and conversations coupled with action will develop trust. What more do you need?
