Winners seek conversation instead of avoiding conflict.
John Wooden. Hardcourt genius, definitely. Leadership legend, absolutely. Tech guru? Well, yeah.
When you work in IT, there are any number of reasons to avoid rocking the boat. From client relations to cost cutting, business owners, IT professionals and MSPs all tend to avoid having the tough conversations that lead to real results. But Wooden himself said it best:
“Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who will argue with you.”
Intelligent clients seek IT partners who will tell them the truth, instead of telling them what they want to hear. And good MSPs listen to their clients’ ideas, instead of insisting on boilerplate solutions.
Here are a couple examples of arguments it’s worth everyone’s time to have.
When a client says, “We don’t need great, we need good enough.”
In the world of IT, small misses sink businesses. Pick the wrong level of service for your needs and you could lose data, profits and even employees with one overloaded server. Cut a corner in your cybersecurity system, and you could be looking at a hack that shuts you down for days, weeks or even forever.
Nobody is perfect, but you can follow a perfect process. And MSPs are right to insist clients outline their requirements, provide transparency into their business, and allocate a sufficient budget.
An MSP who nods along with a “good enough” request may seem easy to work with… until they put you out of business entirely!
When an MSP says, “Pay what we say. And go away.”
An MSP should do their homework. Of course that means coming up with the right proposal. But it also means being transparent and educational about their recommendations. So when they tell you that you need faster PC’s or “more cloud,” it’s fair to ask, “Why?”
A good MSP understands you don’t just own your business, you live it every day. And you have a right to ensure they’ve proposed a solution that fulfills your needs and maximizes your fixed budget.
Those are just a couple examples.
There are a lot of tough conversations out there. So if you’re a client, take the time to listen when your IT folks or MSP disagree with each other. (Or with you!) It’s a sign they’re willing to go the extra step to protect you. And if you’re an MSP, please learn to listen and disagree constructively instead of resting on your expertise.
As John Wooden knew, the name of the game isn’t compromise. It’s winning. And respectful disagreements will help you make sure the team succeeds together.
Let’s have the tough conversations that lead to real solutions—contact us today.
