Comments on: One Basket http://www.michaelmcmillan.com/one-basket Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:38:40 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Bonifer http://www.michaelmcmillan.com/one-basket#comment-136 Bonifer Sat, 26 Jun 2010 00:03:15 +0000 http://www.michaelmcmillan.com/?p=1229#comment-136 You nail it, Mike, when you caution about devoting too many resources to any one client. I agree with Bill's advice about spreading the work around. Whether clients are large or small, I think there's one aspect of client management that outweighs all others: It's best to build relationships with people, not companies. Relationships with companies can disappear in a heartbeat. Relationships with people are not as transitory. You nail it, Mike, when you caution about devoting too many resources to any one client. I agree with Bill’s advice about spreading the work around.

Whether clients are large or small, I think there’s one aspect of client management that outweighs all others: It’s best to build relationships with people, not companies. Relationships with companies can disappear in a heartbeat. Relationships with people are not as transitory.

]]> By: Bill Spiers http://www.michaelmcmillan.com/one-basket#comment-135 Bill Spiers Fri, 25 Jun 2010 22:40:18 +0000 http://www.michaelmcmillan.com/?p=1229#comment-135 The axiom is well-founded and will never fade in its relevance. My personal take on its principle, based on a lifetime (thus far) of wear and tear, is the observation of "bigger is rarely better." In the context of your former business and my current one, large clients demand more for less, and expect more than smaller clients, who tend to be kinder and gentler. And as we've seen in big business, the larger the "partnerships," the greater the risks for dishonesty, graft, and disregard for the ultimate customer. I believe in working with resources of a much more understandable and manageable nature. Working directly with the owner of a business is more efficient, more honest, and allows flexibility that big players won't tolerate. Plus, spreading the work around to more, smaller partners helps the economy in a more dependable, and genuine way, engages them to perform better and results in solutions which help both partners grow and prosper. This is not to discount the bad apple every now and then, but dealing with these and cutting losses is much quicker. The net takeaway is that if we can engage more people who think and work like us, everybody wins. Thanks for putting this out for re-examination. We must review and revise our thinking, developed over time, and make appropriate decisions for how learned principles age and suit (or not) our needs and objectives for the future. The axiom is well-founded and will never fade in its relevance. My personal take on its principle, based on a lifetime (thus far) of wear and tear, is the observation of “bigger is rarely better.” In the context of your former business and my current one, large clients demand more for less, and expect more than smaller clients, who tend to be kinder and gentler. And as we’ve seen in big business, the larger the “partnerships,” the greater the risks for dishonesty, graft, and disregard for the ultimate customer.

I believe in working with resources of a much more understandable and manageable nature. Working directly with the owner of a business is more efficient, more honest, and allows flexibility that big players won’t tolerate. Plus, spreading the work around to more, smaller partners helps the economy in a more dependable, and genuine way, engages them to perform better and results in solutions which help both partners grow and prosper. This is not to discount the bad apple every now and then, but dealing with these and cutting losses is much quicker. The net takeaway is that if we can engage more people who think and work like us, everybody wins.

Thanks for putting this out for re-examination. We must review and revise our thinking, developed over time, and make appropriate decisions for how learned principles age and suit (or not) our needs and objectives for the future.

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