What a lot of unknowns there are as we move into a new decade. The outcomes of Brexit; America, China & Iran; the new UK government… And those are just the “known unknowns”. But what about the “unknown unknowns”? Scary, no?

We all think we know our clients well, but it’s easy to make assumptions (and to become complacent). Could you have blind spots about your clients, where your assumptions no longer reflect the reality? What are your “unknown unknowns” about your clients?

There’s an easy way to find out, and that is to ask. Skillful, personal interviews with clients, tailored to the relationship and the type of work you do for them, will bring hidden issues to the surface. Perhaps these will give you a pleasant surprise: one client told us that a small reduction in day rate could result in our customer getting a lot more work! Perhaps they might be more challenging, as for our customer whose client said, “We’ve changed, but they don’t seem to have noticed.”

But in any case, once you have pinned down that unknown unknown, you know it! And then you can take action to do something about it.