There’s no one thing that shapes the quality of engagement between a client and creative consultant. It is often a complex intersection of multiple vectors. But of the many vectors at play, there is one that I find particularly crucial — one that can potentially uplift or derail the quality of engagement, which in turn can dramatically impact the outcome. 

When I look back across what will soon be 2 decades of professional practice (*shocked at where does time go and all that) — I almost always think most fondly of projects where there was a great measure of trust. Built on both sides of the proverbial table, trust, I suspect is the secret ingredient that influences how a project is shaped. The course of a project, its ups & downs, alignments & diversions and the quality of engagement through it all has the potential of enriching or diluting the eventual outcome. So when I confess my affection for projects where there was a greater measure of trust, it is not all sentimentality but also the sheer joy of producing work where the sum truly was greater than the parts. Like most team sports, clients & creative consultants need to play together on the field towards a common goal, believing that each will bring their strengths and make up for the others’ weaknesses.

While trust or a greater measure of it is also built through the course of the client-consultant engagement, I believe it is an important component to begin with. The onus of seeding trust at the onset lies both ways — often simply by being honest and transparent about challenges, resources and ways of working. At its very least, trust in a client-creative consultant relationship is mutual respect for each others’ core competencies and openness to being presented with a new viewpoint. At its very best, it is the ability to admit oversight, critically evaluate one’s own judgment and finally, take a leap of faith that bold or disruptive solutions often demand.