So, you’ve got a gig, quickly got to see the patterns that are holding your clients back and you are ready to move on.
You make things happen.
You know what to change, how to pivot the approach, how to implement actions, put a plan in motion and so on.
You make shit happen.
And you hit resistance.
Intellectually, your client is following your arguments and understands them.
In principle, it’s only logical to implement your advice IF they want to get to the results they want.
But they don’t move. And it’s not because they don’t want to.
Things —which seem obvious to you— are simply not ready for them.
Here’s the thing
If you fail to read the room (eg. your client, the environment, how decision-making goes, risks, perceptions and liabilities), your advice is likely to collect dust on a shelf.
Think of it this way:
You’re a surgeon and a patient comes to you with symptoms of acute appendicitis (if you don’t operate, they’ll die).
BUT you don’t just perform that surgery in your office —or in the hallways of the hospital.
You need to prep your patient. And the room where they’ll be operated. And the staff to assist. So that chances of success rise in order to have a healthy patient afterwards.
The same applies to consulting. It’s not just saying something or just operating. To get higher chances of success —where they thrive, are healthy and delighted with your help— you need to prep the room.