so i finally was able to get off the client with the bad client PM. i spent a couple of weeks off with my family, which is always appreciated. also, i had heard that the client PM had finally resigned. ;)
anyway, i'm in north carolina for the next several weeks with an old client doing a new project around identity federation.
they were a difficult client when i was here last, but that was almost a year and a half ago. they did mean well, but their execution was not the best. . .
driving up from the appalachians (where i'm staying, the client is in BFE, north carolina), i was again taken by the beauty of the drive. lots of trees and soft mountains. very nice.
we'll see how this engagement goes. nice folks and all. nice bbq as well. that is one of the good things about being on the road, you get to try many regional specialties, especially if you're foody like me.
Showing posts with label clients. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clients. Show all posts
Monday, August 27, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
co-dependent clients
or is it postpartum depression?
if you're an experienced, and good, consultant, you've often deal with the aftermath of an engagement. you know the drill:
1. client starts talking to you about how, "nice it is around here. nice place to raise a family.". furtively trying to gauge your reaction.
2. the client start asking about your family and how if they were you they'd want to get "off the road".
3. client flat out asks you to apply for the new job that your consulting engagement created.
you, of course, slowly back away and try to ease out of the conversation. you've run into this before. you know it's just client co-dependency rearing its ugly head. they have come to trust you and they don't want you to stop telling them what to do. you're tempted. maybe you do want to get "off the road". maybe the client is in a nice town.
but then you remember. you're a consultant. you're a sprinter not a marathoner. you fly in and solve their problems and give them guidance. you then ride off into the sunset. who was that stranger? that man just saved the town. et cetera, et cetera. you don't get into operations. you're not in it to keep the "plumbing running". you've designed and implemented. you're done.
and yet. . .
you remember. you remember the late nights and hard work. you remember the feeling of joy that comes when, some days, problems get knocked down as regularly as dominoes and your team and the client seem to be hitting on all cylinders. you want to keep that feeling of being in "the zone".
but in the end, you know it in your bones that you have to leave. there is always another problem for a different client. you love being that stranger that rides into town and gets rid of the desperadoes. so you climb on your horse (plane) and ride (fly) off into the sunset.
if you're an experienced, and good, consultant, you've often deal with the aftermath of an engagement. you know the drill:
1. client starts talking to you about how, "nice it is around here. nice place to raise a family.". furtively trying to gauge your reaction.
2. the client start asking about your family and how if they were you they'd want to get "off the road".
3. client flat out asks you to apply for the new job that your consulting engagement created.
you, of course, slowly back away and try to ease out of the conversation. you've run into this before. you know it's just client co-dependency rearing its ugly head. they have come to trust you and they don't want you to stop telling them what to do. you're tempted. maybe you do want to get "off the road". maybe the client is in a nice town.
but then you remember. you're a consultant. you're a sprinter not a marathoner. you fly in and solve their problems and give them guidance. you then ride off into the sunset. who was that stranger? that man just saved the town. et cetera, et cetera. you don't get into operations. you're not in it to keep the "plumbing running". you've designed and implemented. you're done.
and yet. . .
you remember. you remember the late nights and hard work. you remember the feeling of joy that comes when, some days, problems get knocked down as regularly as dominoes and your team and the client seem to be hitting on all cylinders. you want to keep that feeling of being in "the zone".
but in the end, you know it in your bones that you have to leave. there is always another problem for a different client. you love being that stranger that rides into town and gets rid of the desperadoes. so you climb on your horse (plane) and ride (fly) off into the sunset.
Monday, July 30, 2007
clash of the consultants or how to deal with incompetence
those of you who are road warriors can attest to the difficulties when it comes to dealing with other consultants and/or contractors that the client employs.
my current client has "issued" us a project manager, who i am convinced, has never successfully managed a project in his career.
the client PM is a client employee who had spent the last 9 years as a "contractor" (his words). he spent the beginning of the engagement trying to convince me of his technical chops, but came across as fairly whingey. apparently his only experience was in training and coding for vignette. our engagement is for an identity management solution. needless to say, the client PM is in over his head.
so i've been tracking and dealing with the client PM's inability to keep track of tasks and requirements that the client team is responsible for. my team is on track. if you're a consultant with a bit of experience, you can probably figure out where this is going.
the client team is behind. so the client PM did what any good "contractor" would do. he tried to throw us under the bus.
luckily for me, the client PM is stupid as well as incompetent. he sent an email to my area partner and CC'd his bosses in complaining about minor issues that should've been handled by the client. his complaint is that we did not "hold there hand" enough.
of course he thought that since he's the client that my area partner would come down on my team and he'd have the upper hand. this was not how it happened. my area partner forwarded me the email, i was able to get in touch with the client sponsors and avoid a blame game train wreck.
so what have i learned and what should all consultants (read NOT contractors) do?
1. keep email communications clear. one of the big things that i was able to do was present email evidence contrary to what the client PM was accusing the team of.
2. never trust the client's PM. i've never had a good experience with client PMs. if they were that good, they'd be working for a consulting organization for more money. but they aren't, so they work in industry.
3. contractors are not the same as consultants. despite what many so-called consulting company's claim, they are not into consulting. they do not try to add value for the client. they are about resource augmentation. they are effectively the IT equivalent of the kelly girl and they are only interested in the billable hour. so if you know you're dealing with a "contractor" then it is best to remember to keep a diary of every time you question the "contractors" decision or note his failure to accomplish a task. keep it with you in case you have to "call out" the contractor and take him to task for his incompetence.
the above 3 items may help when it comes to dealing with clients. i'll post later on some more tips when dealing with an incompetent client who wants to play blame the consultant.
my current client has "issued" us a project manager, who i am convinced, has never successfully managed a project in his career.
the client PM is a client employee who had spent the last 9 years as a "contractor" (his words). he spent the beginning of the engagement trying to convince me of his technical chops, but came across as fairly whingey. apparently his only experience was in training and coding for vignette. our engagement is for an identity management solution. needless to say, the client PM is in over his head.
so i've been tracking and dealing with the client PM's inability to keep track of tasks and requirements that the client team is responsible for. my team is on track. if you're a consultant with a bit of experience, you can probably figure out where this is going.
the client team is behind. so the client PM did what any good "contractor" would do. he tried to throw us under the bus.
luckily for me, the client PM is stupid as well as incompetent. he sent an email to my area partner and CC'd his bosses in complaining about minor issues that should've been handled by the client. his complaint is that we did not "hold there hand" enough.
of course he thought that since he's the client that my area partner would come down on my team and he'd have the upper hand. this was not how it happened. my area partner forwarded me the email, i was able to get in touch with the client sponsors and avoid a blame game train wreck.
so what have i learned and what should all consultants (read NOT contractors) do?
1. keep email communications clear. one of the big things that i was able to do was present email evidence contrary to what the client PM was accusing the team of.
2. never trust the client's PM. i've never had a good experience with client PMs. if they were that good, they'd be working for a consulting organization for more money. but they aren't, so they work in industry.
3. contractors are not the same as consultants. despite what many so-called consulting company's claim, they are not into consulting. they do not try to add value for the client. they are about resource augmentation. they are effectively the IT equivalent of the kelly girl and they are only interested in the billable hour. so if you know you're dealing with a "contractor" then it is best to remember to keep a diary of every time you question the "contractors" decision or note his failure to accomplish a task. keep it with you in case you have to "call out" the contractor and take him to task for his incompetence.
the above 3 items may help when it comes to dealing with clients. i'll post later on some more tips when dealing with an incompetent client who wants to play blame the consultant.
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