Picture this: it’s a pre-COVID Friday night and you somehow got wrangled into seeing a college improv show (hey, they might be funny this time!) While it is not ideal to watch a couple 20-something-year-olds attempt to share the stage with their oversized egos, there is a lesson to be learned at a college improv show. The improv philosophy of “Yes, and” in which you have to accept what someone else has said or done and then add to it with an idea of your own, is also applicable to Salesforce consultants.
The “Yes, and” philosophy essentially boils down to being adaptable in any situation: a key tool to have as a consultant. While Salesforce consultants are certainly not strangers to new situations—after all they are constantly working with different clients across various industries—the COVID-19 crisis made it clear that for companies to succeed now and in the future, they need to be experts at saying “yes, and.”
Embrace Uncertainty
As a consultant it is your job to adapt to the culture and the client, not the other way around. To do that, and to get comfortably doing that, learn to embrace the uncertainty that comes with beginning a new project or taking on a new client. It is inevitable that you will be put into unfamiliar situations, given the nature of this career, so it is more beneficial to learn to adapt to any situation rather than resist and cling to old practices.
This industry is fast-paced and changing constantly. What worked yesterday could be outdated by today so it is no question that consultants who want to succeed and rise above the competition need to learn how to adapt. Adaptability can seem instinctual to some but it truly is a learned skill and a good consultant recognizes the importance of repeated practice and experience. Once you’re comfortable in the uncomfortable—not knowing or being able to prepare 100% for future situations—you can approach new situations with a more flexible mind and come up with innovative solutions faster. Clients want to see that you can pivot quickly and with confidence and will value a consultant who masters adaptability.
Assess and Adapt
When the inevitable happens and you find yourself in the middle of, say a global pandemic where business as we know it completely changes, take a breath and a step back. Assess the situation to determine what action needs to be taken. Once you fully understand what is in front of you, you can now adapt to what the situation calls for. During the pandemic businesses quickly adapted to virtual support of clients, customers, and employees. People were more equipped to work from home and more companies advanced their online capabilities.
Just as an improv troupe may peek out at their audience before the show starts to gauge the crowd size and rework their set, consultants should make it a habit to evaluate the new situation and adapt their plans and strategies to fit their client’s needs. Once you’ve assessed and adapted, become an expert in whatever the new situation calls for. That could mean learning new technology to pitch to a client or understanding market growth to better prepare your next move. Embrace the change, don’t get hung up on what worked in the past because, more often than not, those techniques will not work now. While quick reaction times are a plus, rushing into a new situation without thinking can often cause more problems.
Foresight
Though it is impossible to see the future, good adapters practice foresight by watching for trends and predicting shifts within the industry to determine their next move. Stay up to date on new tech that can help your clients. Become well-read in your industry. Understand the market and gain in depth knowledge of your company’s best practices.
Besides staying up to date, try thinking hypothetically. Play out scenarios to see what you need to do to increase profitability. Be logical about it and use past learning experiences to determine how you might proceed in the future. Practicing foresight prepares you for a variety of different situations that you may encounter in the future and puts you in a better position to adapt to those situations on the road ahead.
Another great way to practice foresight is talking to your network. Communicate with them about the sorts of trends they have seen in the past and how they adapted to them. Map out changes in the industry over the years and use that to give yourself a better idea of what may be coming in the future. Learn from your colleagues too. Observe what works for them and what does not work. Adjust your approach from there to match each individual client and situation, regardless of if you saw it coming or not.
Without the foresight to jump on industry trends early on or to schedule a dentist’s appointment on the night of your friend’s son’s improv show (I know it’s late but 7:30 was the only time he could fit me in for a cleaning), you risk losing out to competitors who are more prepared to take on new projects. While no one can say for certain what the future holds, it is certain that adaptability will be needed to survive in the long run and it looks like we could all benefit from a little more “yes, and.”
Comments