I just got back from a week at one my client’s annual meetings. It’s a big event–1100 people, tons of sessions, four separate Board meetings for me to attend, plus managing staff, committee meetings, and trying to make it to the various receptions, parties and of course those sessions at the bar where all the “real” work gets done.
It’s a lot to juggle, but the bottom line is there is no other way for me to really understand this organization. I’ve read their strategic plan, bylaws, and conference manual. I’ve read the newsletter (okay I haven’t read the Journal; sorry it’s just not my field. But I promise to read it eventually). I read the Board minutes, business meeting minutes, and I even had phone conversations with various Board members. But you don’t really know a client until you see them in action and watch them talking about what really matters to them.
I imagine the same goes for them to some extent. Until they see how I react to them in their context, they’re still guessing about me. They’ve read my resume and maybe even some articles or blog posts I’ve written. But they won’t really know what to do with me until we are able to interact over some time in a context with which they are familiar.
I think we tend to over estimate how well we know the “other” simply by gathering non-experiential information about them.
