Back when I was consulting, the one thing that would give me cold sweats at night was expecting to get a call saying the clients wanted some changes to be made.

And I hate changes…well, not actually hate but maybe a really strong dislike…

The main reason is because of all the wasted time that was spent prior to that. All that time spent on negotiating the contract, workflow-ing the specs, drinking Starbucks…and of course let’s not forget hours actually spent working on the original requirements.

Now I don’t blame the client—because that’s what consulting is all about.

As their guide, it’s your job to figure out what they want. But unfortunately a lot of times they aren’t sure either.

That’s why contracts, requirements, specs, and all that stuff should never be considered the Holy Grail.

Of course it’s hard not to get personal because you spend so much time on it that it’s like your baby and someone is telling you, “Um…yeah…something’s wrong with your kid. It’s gotta change!”

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