Two reasons good contractors are good diplomats

A friend of mine, Gord, sits at the top of a large, family-owned company and he had a beautiful home built some years ago in Southern Ontario. “I really like the contractor I chose to build my place”, Gord explained to me, just after the job was done. “This guy knew how to gently steer me away from my own foolish ideas. I have to save my own customers from themselves like this all the time,” said Gord. “So I know what gentle, skillful diplomacy feels like.”

The ability to effectively lead clients away from bad ideas and towards good ones is a key part of most businesses, especially contracting. It’s a vital soft skill if you aspire to get better and more successful. Apart from the ability to estimate accurately and profitably, your skills as a diplomat need to be finely honed. Why? At least two reasons, as far as I can tell.

First, bad ideas from clients almost always end up being your headache in the end. When things go bad technically down the line, you’ll be responsible for making them right, even if you were just “following orders” from a client who didn’t know as much as you. I know a contractor named Rob who does a lot of roofing – about 1,000 bundles a year, mostly on his own. “I always turn down jobs if the owner won’t pay me to strip back to a bare deck”, Rob told me one day. “New shingles on old shingles are a time bomb I don’t want to deal with just because a client is too cheap.”

The second reason for being a good diplomat is repeat business and referrals. It’s a rare client who doesn’t offer you at least the opportunity to speak a harsh word or raise a judgmentally-angled eyebrow towards them if you’re so inclined. As tempting as these opportunities are, don’t take them. If might feel good at the time, but it’ll cost you big-time in the long run.

Learning to be a diplomatic contractor makes you a better person. Patience is always better than impatience. Knowledge is better than ignorance. Persuasiveness always beats being bull headed.

The wisdom behind kind diplomacy isn’t new. The best source comes from a carpenter who was building things about 2,000 years ago, before it came time for him to change the world. “Do for others what you’d like them to do for you.” Simple, powerful, and easy to remember, isn’t it?