A Guys Point Of View The Value Of Colleagues Vs. Clients
Last year I was having lunch with a colleague. For the sake of this piece we’ll call him “Guy” since he’s too shy to be cited here and since hes a guy. Lunch quickly gave way to a debate andand since we both stuck to our gunsI thought I’d open it up to you folks. Like many issues and debates there isn’t a right answer just different opinions.
It started with Guy discussing how some clients are more valuable than others. Be they bigger less riskaverse more deeppocketed whatnot. I understood what he was sayingwe’re not to the debate quite yetbut then I asked him which did he view as more valuable: Clients or Colleagues?
“Clients silly!” said he. “Hear me out” said me.
He did hear me out but not without first remarking “Clients pay my bills. Clients feed my family. Clients pay for my sports car.” I understood his rationale but there seemed to be a big piece that Guy was maybe or maybe not missing.
I retorted Who alerted you to that project or fulltime job you have now? How many times has a colleague sent you business or referred you for a new job? How many times has a colleague explained a new method or illuminated a new solution for you? How’s about those ubercolleagues who fit the bill of ‘mentor’? And what about all those times that youve run an idea plan program or piece by a colleague to ensure it’s really ready so you don’t fall flat and uh lose that valuable client?
You see clients can come and go; its the nature of business. But colleaguesif you treat them rightstick. Colleagues tend to look out for our best interests and clients can too. But clients have a responsibility to look out for their own interests. And they should that’s the clients role.
Guy paused and then said “The client still feeds my family and fills my gas tank.” So I explained that we likely define ‘value’ differently. And then I sprang for lunchbecause hey I value my colleague Guy.
Net net: clients or employers absolutely pay our bills and bring us plenty of challenging rewarding work. But colleagues point us to new jobs new clients and push us to new heights. Colleagues also provide us innovative ways of looking at a problem and point out pitfalls that could otherwise cause us a world of problems.
So what say you? Am I silly? Or does my argument hold value? And yes some clients also qualify as colleaguesits always a boon when that happens.
PS: I had lunch with Guy again in the last few weeks. We werent debating this time but I did walk him through why for his business in particular social media is an important practice area. He runs a research company that does work in interactive technologies. He couldnt have agreed more that he needed to get up to speed. And then I explained Hey when you land all those valuable new clients as a result of this discussion remember that it was your colleague who nudged you into new waters.
About the writer: I was born Christina Kerley but everyone calls me CK. NYbased Ive been in marketing for 15 years with my own business for eight. My work is split between strategy social media and program development. As with my blog I write on some corebut often overlookedmarketing principles as well as the new 2.0 best practices now that customers are in control where they belong. You may also find articles by Cristina at the TalentZoo.com website under Marketing Moxie.
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