Someone asked me once what I liked about my job. (Okay. It was my therapist during a mental health check-in.) And there were all the things you’d expect an architect to say: design; helping people realize their dreams; making an impact. But any idea what came out first?
“I like my clients.”
And I didn’t even realize that I had said that. In the litany of likes about my job, about my career, the number one like was my clients.
How many of us can say that? (Really – shouldn’t we all be saying that?)
I started working in architecture 20 years ago. And I don’t recall hearing the firm owner emphasizing the importance of liking who you’re working with. Of all the projects I worked on, I can’t say there was one that we took because we thought we’d have a good relationship with the client. Work always centered around the project.
Consequently, that meant there were times when projects did not fare as well as they could or should have. One couple I remember in particular kept pitting one against the other and the project architect being stuck in the middle. The project finally ended, but the process was quite bruising.
Not until we started sales training as owners did anyone tell us we were okay vetting our clients. Not rushing in with a portfolio and doing the dog and pony show was an appropriate approach. We were better off making sure we could have a good working relationship than just looking at dollar signs.
And apparently that idea is still paying off. Because I do like my clients. And I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon.
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