When clients don’t let go

Unraveling a client’s needs, as told through cats

Pair-written and -illustrated by Nina Mehta and Michelle Kang

This is Consultant Cat.

Consultant Cat works with her clients every day and wants to help them build great products. Today, she’s working on an app called Catsy that enables on-demand yarn delivery.

This is Client Cat.

He wants to optimize for a technical concept, Average Yarn Density (AYD), because he believes it will win him a Crunchie.

Through user research and stakeholder interviews, Consultant Cat makes a startling discovery. Optimizing for AYD is not core for the product launch.

Despite the evidence, Client Cat cannot let go of the AYD concept.

If you have consulted before, you may have experienced similar situations. They usually sound like this:

What is Consultant Cat to do?

Listening is key.

We need to understand the root of a client’s concern so we can work through it. Otherwise, the client’s unmet concern could block your launch. Uncertainty forms a part of any important project, and it can lead into a giant messy hairball.

To unravel the hairball, embrace it.

Addressing the fear is necessary to letting go. Here’s what Consultant Cat can do next:

Great job, Consultant Cat. Since she truly listened, she can launch a good product with a happy client. Talk about meow factor!

Thanks to Pam Dineva and Labs design team for their feedback.