During a recent conversation with a client, he spent the initial part complaining bitterly about the length of time it was taking to transfer away from one of his key suppliers.  It was clear the transfer was a key business strategy designed to improve the ability of my client to respond to his clients faster and with greater efficiency.

For reasons which are not totally clear to my client, the negotiations with the existing supplier have dragged on for over six months with no resolution in sight!   To put it mildly, my client was angry & frustrated and took the time to make it clear how he felt about the present position.

Whilst I understood and empathised with the way he was feeling, I expressed the view my client has taken his “eye off the ball” with regard to his clients, who are the lifeblood of the business.  He was so wrapped up in & focussed on dealing with exiting from the key supplier, he had forgotten about servicing his clients.

In these circumstances, I queried whether he had communicated with his clients about the problems he was having and how this was impacting on his ability to service their needs.

My client replied he had not and went quiet.

His next words that came were along the lines that he was spending too much time focussing on his needs and problems rather than in meeting the needs of his clients.

By the end of our conversation, he had new found energy to start focussing on working with his clients rather than focussing on resolving the issues with the key supplier.