If asked about topics that illustrate value, “results” is the first value driver that springs to everyone’s mind. Yet results are overrated.
There, I said it.
They are the epitome of the principle “clients are always right about what they want, but rarely about what they need.”
Imagine you could materialize the results by snapping your fingers – the clients would probably be confused rather than happy. They would miss the “how we got here” part, and that would scare them.
Because while clients say they only want results, they mean they want to get as close to “certainty” as possible. Their love for numbers will only extend as far as they are able to follow the process of how they were achieved, which in many cases will not be very far.
As soon as your numbers stop “making sense” to them, they will ask for more than just results. And this is fine, IF you know that this is coming, and are ready to show them the process, the transformation, the trust that you know what you are doing.
This is the main limitation of results as a value driver- they fade.
Anyone can be the person who delivers a result. But can you be the one who makes the client feel secure every step of the way? Clients are looking for more than a scoreboard—they want a partner, someone who can guide them through the unpredictable. Embrace that, and you’ll never be boxed in by the limits of “results” again.