Partnering gets thrown around so often that it has gotten watered down and practically meaningless. Most firms don’t mean it, and most clients don’t believe it. All the substance has been extracted from partnering.
It is important to share the principles that guide our work with clients because we believe them to be true, and we operate by them. These principles have stood the test of time and will continue to do so. They aren’t trendy. They are timeless. We’ve operated under these principles with clients for a while; after all, we’ve been helping clients leverage technology to fuel growth for 26 years and counting.
Here are some of the principles we honor in our work with clients:
We Work in the Best Interest of our Clients
Sometimes, this means saying things a client doesn’t want to hear and asking them to make tough choices, but it is all done in the client's best interest.
We Work in the Best Interest of the Product and Service
We believe we have a professional obligation to work in the client's best interest and the reason we are engaging. You would think that their best interest is also in the best interest of the problem, product, etc., but sometimes that isn’t always the case. For example, clients don’t know what they don’t know about creating a digital product, and we must act as their advisors to steer them away from potholes and pitfalls that they don’t know are coming.
We Admit What We Don't Know
We know a lot about solving problems through technology, but we don’t know it all. We will admit what we don’t know and either come up with a plan to figure it out or help a client to get the expertise somewhere else.
We Admit When We Get Something Wrong
We’re not perfect. Clients are not perfect. That’s okay; we’ll be imperfectly awesome together and admit when each is wrong.
We Communicate with Candor
We will communicate with candor. We don’t sugarcoat things. We deal with them head-on. We expect our clients to also be direct and frank with us.
We are Highly Responsive
An essential aspect of communication and collaboration is responsiveness. We will always respond promptly, and we expect the same in return.
We Show Mutual Respect
Respect our team and their efforts to help you accomplish your objectives. Creating things is hard but doing it in a supportive relationship makes it easier. Let’s not make it harder than it already is.
We Keep Egos in Check
Being right is less important than doing the right thing. No chest-thumping, no grandstanding, and no ego-boosting.