There’s an upcoming blog carnival on the theme of “mistakes consultants have made with their clients.” Another opportunity for us to walk our transparency talk. Can you just hear my enthusiasm?

We try not to make the same mistake twice, but we’re human, and we screw up. Among some of the ones I personally have made at least once over the years:

* Not listening deeply. Sometimes the client can’t say exactly what they want, or what they want is not exactly what they say they want. The only antidotes to this are lots of back and forth about expectations and the precise scope of work, and active listening.
* Not asking for honest feedback. Just cause you think everything is hunky dory doesn’t mean the client isn’t frustrated. Sometimes our clients are too gentle-hearted to take us to task without repeated asking on our part. It’s easy to let each other off the hook, but it ’s not good for the relationship or the product.
* Getting too involved -or- not getting involved enough