Watch Your Blind Spot!

You’re driving down the highway, and the car in front of you is going too slowly.  You would like to go faster.   Looking around, you decide that moving to the left lane will let you get ahead.  Seems like a good decision so you go for it – after all, who doesn’t want to get there faster?  You obey all traffic laws, use your signal, and slide over.

Except, you didn’t see the car in your blind spot.  If you’re lucky, he sees you and honks, avoiding disaster.  But if he’s busy yapping on his cell phone or otherwise focused, kaboom!  Your easy solution to speed things up just blew up, leaving you in quite a mess.  Your car is mangled; it’s going to take hours to sort out; you’ve got a very irate driver in the other car (hopefully not injured), and there’s no way you’re going to make that meeting now.  Oh, yeah, and there’s the increased insurance premiums, the lawsuit, and hours of work over the coming weeks and months to sort out all the financial and legal issues.

This was totally avoidable, if you had just checked your blind spot!

If you work on projects for a client, the same story holds true.

How often have you been working on a project, and part way in, you realize there’s a “better” or “faster” way to get things done.  Of course your client wants his project better and faster, so you “change lanes” and start doing things a bit differently.  You innovate every day – it’s how you solve the problems needed to get projects done.  You are constantly changing, adapting and adjusting your processes to “get there faster/better/cheaper.”  You have to, just to meet the demands of your clients and be competitive in your market.

However, have you checked your blind spot?  Do you always include your client in these process adjustments, to let him know what you’re doing and why?  Most of the time, your client will appreciate that you’ve adjusted and innovated for his benefit.  Does he know you’ve done so?  If not, let him know so he can appreciate the value you are adding.

But what about those times when the process doesn’t work for your client?  Your bright idea didn’t factor in some information your client knows (that you don’t) which will cause a wreck?  Assuming nothing can go wrong is a costly and risky proposition.   What you must do is check your blind spot!  Get feedback from your clients constantly throughout the project.  If you shift gears in order to “improve” the project, schedule, or budget – let your client know and get validation that the changes really are an enhancement.   Otherwise, you risk running into your client, and damaging not just the project delivery, but your very valuable client relationship.

To read more about feedback and your blind spot, check out my post on the Johari Window.