💡 Quote I'm pondering

"Not having heard of it is not as good as having heard of it. Having heard of it is not as good as having seen it. Having seen it is not as good as knowing it. Knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice” - Xunzi

The ad reminded me of this quote - as, in my opinion, the ad only achieves the first step - but this is something I see all the time with clients.

Sometimes, I “consult” - I answer questions directly, I tell clients exactly what the right course of action is. I tend to do this when clients are really stuck and facing a crunch point. Often, clients need “consulting” when we first start together and that is absolutely fine. We need to get you to a point of safety before it is reasonable to expect you to consider bigger picture stuff (the things that make a real difference!).

Other times, I “coach”. I make people aware of things they might not otherwise be able to see - be it because of lack of understanding of things like data, or they don’t know what options exist, or because they are too close to the problem. I help people find the solution to the problem themselves. This helps bring about real epiphanies, lifechanging insights that impact everything, and it reaches much deeper than consulting can. I find that the vast majority of people know the answer, they just need the right question.

Both consulting and coaching have their place. The information “sticks” better when it is coached, the lesson tends to be more fully absorbed and a more lifelong and more positive change takes place. However, it takes longer. It isn’t much use to somebody to have an epiphany after everything has collapsed around them because they didn’t get the help they needed in time. Consulting fills that gap. With consulting, I provide an answer quickly, knowing that it is a temporary fix to get people into a point where they can do the important stuff.

I often have to play with Zeigarnik Effect to achieve these results, and aid self diagnosis like the ad does, in order to achieve the right effect within clients.

What about with your customers - do they need an answer now, or a deeper epiphany? Do they need a tab opened or closed? What is the transformation you help them achieve? How can you bring about their awareness, and show them what it really looks like, in your marketing? And which of these things do you need right now?

I shared this in my Work Smart Wednesday newsletter. Want the full set of related insights? You can read them here: https://worksmartwednesday.substack.com/p/work-smart-wednesday-july-10-2024

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