When I was just a few years out of school, young and near broke I eyed what I thought was the deal of the day. A new 1986 1/2 Nissan Hard Body Pickup truck.
These things were selling stripped for like $4,900 NEW. Stick shift, no a/c, no floor mats, manual windows, nothing. So, with a bit of financial finagling I drove this beauty home. ( well, not THIS beauty, as I just pulled this random image from the interweb)
After a few months of driving it developed this annoying squeak. Every bump in the road SQUEAK, a turn around a corner SQUEAK, and God forbid I go over a speed bump. So I decided since it was still under warranty I would take it back to the dealership and have them fix this squeak. ( after all, this was NEW vehicle)At the dealership the mechanic came out to hear about the issues and then told me he needed to take it for a test drive. 15-20 minutes later he returned and told me he found the issue and would have it fixed right away. With this news I found myself excited about finally being able to turn a corner in silence. I pondered if he would be lubing something, or replacing some rubber cushiony type thing that magically would stop this noise intrusion.
Later, the mechanic came into the waiting room to tell me he fixed the issue, and for me to come into the back to get my truck. I asked him what was the issue? What did he do? He looked me square in the face, and said in a calm, direct voice. " I installed you an old radio we had laying around the shop. Your problem is you bought a $4,900 truck and had nothing better to listen to. When you start hearing the squeak, just turn the radio up"
<Pause>
Here I sit, 30 yrs later and I can still hear his words. This mechanic understood me as his customer, and what my real needs might be. He worked as my advocate, yet told me some direct news I needed to understand. ( you bought a really cheap truck buddy, suck it up, it's not a cadillac ) He also found a solution that I could not possibly imagine.
Many times I find myself, as a consultant, having to play a similar role. Clients think they know the problem, and think they know the solution. They approach the issue with you asking for a known solution to their known problem. Often, it's my role to help them see what the real problem might be, and help them see a far different/creative solution. Clients appreciate respectful honesty and integrity in work. Trust is built with each interaction. Make no mistake, this is hard work. The easy road is simply giving them what they are asking to buy.
It's not always this way, sometimes the client has a pretty clear image of the issues, and is on target for the solution-they just need your help in executing. But often they are too close to the issue. Like me with the truck all I could hear was the squeak, and all I could picture was some anti-squeak repair. I was myopically focused on only one thing, and only one solution.
Marshall ( the mechanic) became my go-to mechanic for the next 15 yrs until he retired. He was right in looking at the whole system, the issue was really it was far too quiet in that small tin can of a truck. It was never designed for silence in driving. It was built for economy and utility, and my mindset had it something far different.
Squeaks and all, my new truck grew to be be just at I wanted, once I saw it more clearly for what it was ( and could crank up the tunes)
