A Little to the Left
When a client asks you to change something, how do you react? Do you get a knot in your stomach just thinking about it? A little ball of anxiety? Do you get a little butt-hurt?
I designed our current project over a year ago. It was still t-shirt weather when we started construction in September. Last week, I spent my time cleaning up the first phase and getting ready for the next: excavating for footings, installing a crushed stone base, moving and organizing the multiple tons of stone we’ll use, and setting up the batter frames and string lines to guide the shape and size of the arched stone wall we’re building.
Before laying the first stone, I asked the client for his opinion. He suggested a change.
When I asked what he thought, it wasn’t a trick question. I wasn’t fishing for a compliment, hoping he’d tell me everything is perfect and I’m a genius. We’ve all asked for an opinion when what we really want is validation. I genuinely wanted his input, knowing full well the can of worms I might be opening.
I listened to his idea. Really listened. I pictured the change in my head, visualizing how it would interact with the work we’d already done and the work still to come.
It was a good idea. It was the right call.
This was such a quick, seemingly simple interaction, but it could have gone wrong in so many ways.
I could have ignored his idea with a "how dare he question me" attitude and not given it my full attention.
Afraid to offend “the artist,” he might have stayed silent and regretted it every time he walked past the wall for the next twenty years (it’s a unique design directly in front of his new house).
I could have dismissed his suggestion out of pride or resisted it out of laziness because it meant redoing some of the prep work I’d already done.
I could have agreed to the change but resented it because it wasn’t “my” idea.
I could have hated the idea but, afraid to stand my ground, gone along with it anyway, letting my vision for the project get diluted.
He could have micromanaged the implementation of the change, eroding the trust between us.
But instead, we both did what needed to be done. He spoke up. I listened. We moved forward with the idea that best served the project—and that’s the point.
How do you handle it when a client asks you to move something a little to the left?