“Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.”
– Peter Drucker
I saw my doctor this week for my annual checkup. Pleased to say I am in good health with the possible exception that my blood pressure was a bit too high as you could probably imagine, my stress level is likely to blame. However, this started an important conversation with my doctor about how to manage this situation, what were my options? How serious is this? Do I need to do something or just wait? What is the timing for treatment? And lastly, do we need more information to make a good decision?
So the reason I am sharing this with you is that my doctor is a great consultant.
He is smart and happy. I always feel great when I spend time with him. He is interested in me personally and we have a great rapport. Although he’s super busy I never feel like he is rushing with me. He’s fully present and engaged, I never see him check a phone or email while we are meeting.
There is no doubt he’s smart, so much so that he’s willing to take the time to explain things to me. He entertains all of my questions, even when they are obviously misplaced or counter to his guidance. I feel like he helps me understand the issues so I can make good choices. It’s obvious he takes pride in educating others without trying to build his own ego.
He explains to me how he is going to diagnosis an issue and then how we are going to use the data/information to make a good decision. I am never confused about the process or what to expect next, I feel like I am going on a ride (He’s driving of course) but I’m never surprised. Like the comfort you feel when you hear a song and you know what the next note is going to be otherwise known as cadence.
When it comes to treatment, we talk about options, benefits, and risks at any level of detail that is important to me. My doctor is not shy about opinions or his recommendations, in fact, I’d say he is quite firm in his point of view, however; the process of deciding is collaborative. He doesn’t just lay out the options and then go with whatever I want; he is taking responsibility for ensuring a positive outcome.
To simplify, the experience I am trying to share is that good consultants do four things really well:
They personally care about their clients
They freely share their knowledge and experience
They make sure their clients know how we are going to get things done
They take responsibility for the outcomes
I want our clients to feel the same comfort and confidence in us as consultants. While we are growing and nurturing the relationships we have to keep in mind that everything we do or say is being weighed heavily. Remember the four principles of being a great consultant as you are building trust with our clients.
Let’s go be great!
Brad