Flawless Consulting, 4th Edition

CHAPTER 6The Contracting Meeting

THERE IS AN OLD DAVID STEINBERG JOKE about the person showing up for his first meeting with his psychiatrist. He walks in the office and is faced with the choice of two chairs to sit in. He turns to the psychiatrist and asks, “Which chair should I sit in?” The psychiatrist says, “Either one.” The person sits in one. The psychiatrist jumps up, points an accusing finger at him, and shouts, “Aha! Everything counts!”

So it is with contracting. Everything counts, not as judgment—wrong chair—but that each step you take is a choice. In the face of a world that places you up against the wall, your decision on which chair you pick is a source of insight and connection. Almost every event and action carries with it a message about what this project and client are going to be like. This information is available in minutes, not months.

The point is that the personal interaction between the consultant and the client, you and the client, during the initial contracting meetings is an accurate predictor of how the project itself will proceed. If you can accept this concept, you will pay close attention to the process of those early meetings. In fact, the critical skill in contracting is being able to identify and discuss relational and process issues between you and the client as they occur. Not what they have in mind, but what you have in mind.

The contracting meeting is usually set up by a phone call or email or text or other thread of connectedness. In the ...