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The Tao of Tsau: Business 6/17/2010 8:52:27 AM
"Business is business."
In "You've Got Mail", the Tom Hanks character tells the Meg Ryan character that she has to take care of herself and her business. I believe the quote is "It's not personal; it's just business." Of course, it is extremely difficult to separate business issues from personal feelings. Hence, it was this reminder that Yung quoted often that reminded his consultants that clients often made decisions based on their business needs and not on their personal likes and dislikes.
If you have ever been a consultant, you know that your reporting structure along with the implicit power structure within which you work, often gets turned upside down as an organization restructures. Indeed, there are cases where the client manager with whom you work leaves the organization, either voluntarily or involuntarily. The fate of your project and the business which the consultant keeps depends on the depth of relationship in the company.
Whether you and your business survives depends again on the depth and breadth of the relationships that you have built within your customer's organization. If you know one person and that person leaves, your departure may be close at hand as a new power structure takes office. This scenario is as old as organizational structures and probably has existed since prehistoric times.
You may be looking for a new engagement not because you performed poorly or are not well liked, but because the client's business has changed. However, if you have done your relationship building correctly, you may end up simply changing desks and projects, not looking for a new ID badge and a new parking place. Every business change is a learning experience and a short quote from Verse 32* of The Tao shows.
"One who knows the truth that underlies all things lives in this world without danger To him, every word reflects the universe every moment brings enlightenment
*Tao Te Ching, The Definitive Edition, Lao Tzu with Translation and Commentary by Jonathan Star, Jeremy P Tarcher/Penguin, 2001, page 45