Are We Placing Too much Faith in Trust

We all learn that trust is fundamental to successful consulting. While the reputation of your firm might get you a seat at a client’s table, winning the client’s business comes down to your people—their knowledge, experience, energy, and commitment. A personal relationship can also be important if things go wrong. No amount of run¬ning back to check who is responsible for what in the contract will help when a client encounters a problem, but knowing the project manager well and being able to trust that he or she has the client’s best interest at heart may well diffuse an otherwise tense situation.

Steps to Success

Alliances resemble a blended family, created when two indi­viduals and their children form a new household. To work, they need to be prepared carefully and then nurtured. Whether you are helping a client to form a strategic alliance or are contemplating one yourself, fol­low the steps below to achieve antici­pated payoffs.