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JUNE JEWELL, from page 5

surrounding renewable energy, he also knows that the tide has already turned, especially in a place like Vermont. “After all these years in the industry, there’s a huge transi- tion happening,” Blittersdorf says. “The future is not tied to fossil fuels.” “After all these years in the industry, there’s a huge transition happening. The future is not tied to fossil fuels.” JUNE JEWELL is the president of AEC Business Solutions. Connect with her on LinkedIn and learn more about how to improve your firm’s financial performance at aecbusiness.com. If your employees’ desire is to keep your client happy, maintain the relationship and avoid conflict, it is often easier to kick the can and deal with a tough situation later. This often results in missed expectations, increased liability, schedule delays, and budget overruns. One way to work on this with your team is role playing. I often get a group of project managers together and have them take turns playing the client and the consultant. For some funny reason they love playing the client! This type of role playing can give them the words they need to be successful in difficult situations, and build their confidence so that they can see this type of slowing down process as a benefit rather than torture. Next time you have that uncomfortable feeling about something that is said, you will know that it is a gift, and even a possible opportunity. Take the time to slow down, turn the light to green, and proceed with the certainty that you may help your firm avoid a big crash someday. This may seem like a radical approach but what are the downsides to asking this? If the client has money he or she will happily answer and the yellow light will turn green – you can proceed with confidence. If they don’t have the money then you were never going to get it anyway. Another scenario that often occurs is when a client asks for something outside the scope and you know it will cause them to exceed their budget. Very often our staff, including project managers, will move forward and give the client what they want, hoping they will get paid if they bill it. A more effective approach might be to ask the client how they want to proceed and let them make the decision. For example: “Mr. Client, this is a great idea and will really add value to the project, however, it will cost more money to do it that way. Let me go back and figure out how much extra this will be and then you can decide if it makes sense to move forward with this change.” “Very often the fear takes over – the fear of losing a client, getting embarrassed, or even worse – of derailing a good relationship.”

are finally ready to move forward. Several months into the project you start to get concerned that the client has not paid any of their invoices. Weeks later after the client goes radio silent and won’t return your phone calls, you find out he still has no money and the project isn’t going to continue. At that point you really wish you had asked more questions and you are $40,000 in the hole. “Yellow lights can be quick one-off statements, word-of-mouth information, or even intuition when talking with others that just doesn’t feel right.” Yellow lights can be quick one-off statements, word-of- mouth information, or even intuition when talking with others that just doesn’t feel right. Something inside you says – should I say something? Should I ask a question? But very often the fear takes over – the fear of losing a client, getting embarrassed, or even worse – of derailing a good relationship. These yellow lights occur every day but often we choose to look the other way. Sometimes the yellow lights are a blessing – they are warnings being sent to warn you of possible danger ahead. If you just take the time to stop, and turn the yellow light to red or green, you will not only deter possible future risk, but you will show your client, boss, or employee (wife, kids, parents) that you want the best possible future outcome. So how do you stop and turn a yellow light to red or green? The process is actually easier than it seems. In some cases it is as simple as asking questions. You can preface your questions with a statement that lets the individual know that you are concerned. For example: “Mr. Prospect, I know how important this project is to you and you have already had considerable delays in the past with funding. What has changed since last year with the funding situation and how can we be confident that this project will be fully funded?” “Take the time to slow down, turn the light to green and proceed with the certainty that you may help your firm avoid a big crash someday.”

VERMONT, from page 7

Clean energy, of course, is not without its controversies. Highly visible, solar farms, and in particular, wind farms, arouse opposition from individuals and groups that lament the loss of pristine views, and who say the quality of life is compromised for those living near the installations. In Ver- mont, that opposition has in part manifested itself in the form of a grinding, rigorous permitting process, particular- ly for wind farms. While Blittersdorf is well aware of the concerns

THE ZWEIG LETTER June 20, 2016, ISSUE 1157

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