I was recently asked ‘What are you seeing as the two main challenges for clients?’ At this point in time, the first and main one is ‘Resource Acquisition’. Resource Acquisition as in recruiting to provide the best fit in terms of transferable skills and culture.   With unemployment rates low and the incoming candidate pool diverse in various ways such as work ethic, motivation, and spanning many generations, clients are finally realizing that taking what looks like a fit on the outside and making it work, can have a detrimental impact which takes much longer to reverse, than the length of time it took to create. Good news is, that the shift we now see is that they are understanding this and acting on it.  The result - a mindful selection process and commitment to staying the recommend course. 

The primary challenge for them is patience, from both an emotional and operational viewpoint.  It sometimes translates into accommodations that are found with being understaffed, i.e.rolling up their sleeves to bear the pain until ‘a’ right person is realized. 

The second challenge(which I later deduced was the reason for my fellow Rotarian’s inquiry) was to get my perspective on his dilemma - the frustration in getting clients to execute on a strategy.  He is a sales coach, and his plight more universal than you might think.  ‘You can lay out the financials – what works and makes sense, and they don’t follow through on it’. 

We tabled the conversation as the next meeting became a priority, yet I suggest he consider looking from outside his needs to gain perspective.  Who desires the outcome? Is his sales process designed to understand their ‘emotional’ pain point? Is he engaging on their at-root basic need,or his own?  Looking with-in and being open to questioning your processes is a very powerful tool.   So often true in life - as I find myself in conversation with a client or colleague - pushing their envelope into growth, a parallel circumstance arose – leading me to ponder the following:

At core, what are our values?  If a client is not finding value in your services – would you continue?  Might you be bold enough to reexamine the relationship, and at what cost?  We often make decisions on income required to pay bills, family circumstances, perceptions from our business community, or personal rigidity in belief that we can change something outside our control.  Sometimes letting go, being brave and releasing that which doesn't fit and trusting our internal voice, higher power, or the universe might create the space for a better fit, (even if the fear prior, is that the bottom will fall out, and you won't have a leg to stand on).

Imagine the possibilities.  Arise a new balance of challenge and awe-inspiring outcomes.