Four Simple and Effective Ways to Rock Your New Project

We’re excited to share useful tips from Management Consulting Workforce Consultant, Nick Johnson, on how to rock a new client project:

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As consultants, starting a new client project is an exciting endeavor. Each new project is an opportunity to get scrappy and use the tools and skills developed throughout your career to quickly build rapport in a new organization. Here are four easy tricks I’ve learned to guarantee I start every project on the right foot.

1. Always Have a Framework

Clients have a lot of ideas, but not nearly enough time in the day to explore them. Help your client quickly get organized by creating a framework for recording and tracking ideas. In busy times, these moments of inspiration can often get lost among more urgent priorities. Recording, prioritizing, resurfacing, and actioning these ideas helps ensure the business continues to stay focused on future momentum versus getting mired in the day-to-day.

2. Search Before You Ask

Don’t be afraid to ask good questions. But, wait to ask questions until you’ve sought to find the answer yourself. Take detailed notes and ask for visibility to any important threads or documentation. When you have a question, search for key words in all materials and resources available to ensure the answer isn’t right in front of you. If you still can’t make headway, ask away. In the end, it’s always better to clarify than wasting time doing guess work or potentially producing an ineffective result.

3. Constant Communication

Communication, while simple, is tough to master. Ask your client how s/he likes to receive communication (email, text, Teams, etc.) and how often. Regular and timely updates keep your clients apprised of workload, progress, and the time it takes for you to produce high-value results.

4. Prioritization

As the age-old idiom goes—when it rains, it pours. When it comes to client work, there can be periods of time when it can feel difficult to keep your head above water. Instead of dropping the ball on a deliverable, make sure to communicate your workload with your client and request feedback to determine which deliverables take top priority. If your client comes to you with fresh priorities, ask your client where these align to her or his current competing priorities and communicate timelines for completion accordingly.

At AG Consulting Partners, we believe in taking care of our people first to enable them to bring their best to every client project. Our employees embrace the entrepreneurial spirit and embody our core values: transparency, stewardship, and intention. Founded in 2009, and headquartered in the Greater Seattle area, AG Consulting Partners is recognized as one of Inc 5000 and Puget Sound Business Journal’s fastest growing private companies.