Effective Client Engagement vs Things that matter

"Wow, you really can handle that client well. She is such a frikkin bitch. How in the world can you deal with her?" someone in office said to me. And I got thinking, "How CAN I deal with her?" It dawned on me then. I had extensive experience of doing what I had just done, with someone who was not my client, and was most certainly NOT a bitch.

I knew how to deflect things that were said to me...things that were blown out of proportion, things that were hurled at me with needless agression, things that I couldn't make a difference to, things that were said just because the speaker was anal about some stuff, things that didn't warrant a hyperactive ruckus...things that were uttered just because I was annoying the person at the other end by doing nothing particular. I knew how to duck down and let these things go.

But I never ducked down or deflected those words because I didn't care. I did that because I believed in keeping things simple. Vital few versus the trivial many...thats what I called it. 80:20 rule, Pareto...whatever...I thought if I took care of the few major issues, the remaining trivial many didn't matter. And the outcome would still be as desired. And thats how it is. I close my ears and let the client yap about whatever is poking her butthole and do my thing quietly without caring about her stupid words. In the end, the product is as per her expectations and thats what matters, and everyone is happy.

But thats in office. Elsewhere, I learned, the trivial many figure decisively in the final analysis. I felt like asking my friend, "How do you deal with that?"

I would be happier today if I could have kept that someone else satisfied and my client pissed off, rather than the other way round.