First root problem: We don’t know how to enable client’s decisions
Last week, we talked about goal setting. The aspect of goal setting is extremely important in projects and to enable decision-making. This missing ability to foster decisions is even one of the root causes of many problems we have in the industry.
I see a lot of miscommunication between planners and clients. The client expects the planner to support. That’s the reason why the planner got hired. The planner often thinks the client will tell what he has to do and does not ask the right questions. We will see more to this topic in Chapter Step 2: Communication and Collaboration.?
In a nutshell, many planners want a streamlined linear process from the first idea to the finished design and often forget that planning is an iterative process.
If the client could describe the requirements upfront, the whole process would be easy, and many planners would lose their jobs. Most clients have wishes, and one of the core jobs of the planner is to transform these wishes into requirements and solutions. The planner must enable the client to make better decisions to do this.
Psychology teaches us that making decisions is difficult because we always miss out on something. Moreover, the mental budget to make decisions is limited. Therefore, it's the planner's core job to help the client decide. That's in the interest of the client and of the planner!
I remember a meeting with an experienced mechanical engineer early on in my career. The client changed the layout all the time, and at the same time, we needed to progress with the design of the high-rise building. We needed to fulfill the need to create more certainty for the client so that he felt comfortable making a decision. In this meeting, we clashed. I was trying...
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