"I Didn't Learn Anything From You"

 "I didn't learn anything from you," is what I heard my new client say.

Did he really say "from you"? In retrospect. Maybe not. Maybe that's what I heard, but that's not what he said. But it's really been bothering me.

Maybe what he really said was, "I didn't learn anything."

He apologized for being harsh. I hadn't thought he was being harsh. I thought he was being helpful.

I picked up this project on very short notice. It was already a tight deadline. They were one week into a three-week project when I got a text from a former boss, current colleague, and lifelong friend. 

"You might hear from Michaela. She's got an urgent project." Was the notification on my phone. Immediately following it was the notification of an email from Michaela. Who I had never met.

Within a couple hours, I had the verbal go ahead. The previous consultant had a family emergency. Michaela sounded a bit panicked.

The project seemed perfect for me. Digital products, platforms, and a team of ambitious product marketers looking to "take a big risk" and do something bold to stand out in their careers at a large global drinks manufacturer.

"Do you want to sell sugar water the rest of your life or come with me and change the world." Steve Jobs said that to John Sculley to lure him away from Pepsi to become CEO of Apple. What a mistake that was. But I digress. (Disclaimer: the client is not PepsiCo).

I worked my ass off to get up to speed, understand their objectives, do my research, and write up their story. 

It was a strong story. I just didn't tell it well. I admit. And yet, I was in the middle of it. I had all these gems of information. They were collected in a series of raw presentation slides. I was seeking alignment on how to organize them. How many they wanted. How much polish each needed.

From the first call, they suggested a collaborative approach. Share drafts. It doesn't have to be done. 

So here I was, sharing the whole thing. I'm fortunate to have a strong and generous network to call on for input. This project was awesome for this. I could leverage this global brand to get the interest of senior leaders at other global brands. I had almost a dozen phenomenal conversations with brilliant people that worked at companies everyone has heard of, and I was loving it.

I was excited to share with the client.

"I didn't learn anything." 

I'm disappointed. I know I learned a lot. A hell of a lot. I know I didn't communicate it that well in the presentation. But, I was expecting collaboration.

I asked for more information and guidance. I do this a lot.  

Describe to me in great detail what your vision is, and there's no one more dedicated to helping you achieve it than me. It's my calling. 

Michaela championed for me. If there's one thing in my professional life that I'm most grateful for, it's a person with power that gets it and speaks up.

We got feedback. They suggested Monday. I suggested Friday. "Is that enough time?" Yes, it's enough time, and if I still don't get it right, I'll have the weekend to take additional feedback. 

After the call, Michaela and I spoke. "I think it's all there," she said. I agreed. I suggested I had been collecting this big lump of clay, and I brought it to the team to show and get input on what to pull away, what to shape, what do highlight. Instead, I got "I didn't learn anything." Yes, I admit. It bothered me. Seriously bothered me.

Next client meeting will happen soon. I'm looking forward to it. But, there's some damage that's been done. Harsh isn't the right word. Maybe careless?

My perspective is this: This is all in my head. These are all just thoughts. All of this is just me ruminating on something that bruised my ego. Clearly I added the "from you". He would not have said that. But that's what I heard, or that's what my ego inserted in there to promote itself and attempt to take charge.

I go in with a clean mind. I have collected gemstones of information. I gave them a bag of diamonds. They want them set into a platinum ring. I am a jeweler, not a commodity broker. And I'm grateful for the reminder.