✦Business · 12 records · for a shared workspaceOnboard a new client

The start of an engagement sets what the client expects for its whole life. This front-loads the boring clarity — scope, contacts, how decisions get made, what happens when something changes — while goodwill is still high and nothing has gone wrong yet.

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Goal

An engagement that started organised Week 3

Scope, contacts and decisions settled while goodwill is high.

Kickoff Day 10

Three questions that cause every difficult conversation later.

  • Agree what done looks like, in writingDo firstDay 3
  • Agree who decides, on both sidesDo firstDay 5
  • Agree how often we talk, and set it upDay 8

Set it up properly Week 3

Boring clarity, while nothing has gone wrong yet.

  • Write down what is out of scopeDo firstDay 12
  • Agree what happens when something changesDo firstWeek 2
  • Send the first written updateWeek 3

Routines

  • Written client updateweekly
  • Check invoices and paymentweekly
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The first three weeks set the tone

A slow, vague start is read as how you work, and correcting that impression later costs far more than avoiding it.\n\nWriting down what is out of scope is easy while everybody is pleased with each other, and very hard afterwards. So is agreeing what happens when the scope changes.

✦ Questions

Onboard a new client, answered.

Agreeing what done looks like, who decides, and how often you will talk. Everything else can be discovered later; those three cause almost every difficult conversation that happens in month four.
Write down what is out of scope, not just what is in it, and agree in advance what happens when something changes. Both are easy while everybody is pleased with each other and very hard afterwards.
Because the first three weeks set the expectation for the rest of the engagement. A slow, vague start is read as how you work, and it is much more expensive to correct that impression than to avoid it.
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