Similar to the joy of seeing the first spring flower or the first snowy, winter day, the beginning and end of a consulting assignment is most exciting for me. I can set the stage for success or failure by specific actions I take at both critical points in any engagement. The bookends of a project are your client’s impression bank, long after you are onto another assignment. Throughout a consulting assignment, ethics and strong communication skills are keys to a successful engagement. Unless you do what you say you are going to do and communicate along the way, the outcome will not be seen as success in your client’s eyes.

So what can you do to ensure a strong beginning and end to any of your projects?

In the beginning, the client wants to confirm to himself (or even the entire organization) that hiring you was money well-spent and that the time SMEs will spend with you (instead of doing their own job) will be a sound investment. Ultimately, will you solve the problem that you were hired to solve? By rolling up your sleeves, asking good, thought-provoking questions and listening, you can confirm to your audience that you “get it”. Don’t jump to conclusions and presume you have all the answers. Listen to the real problem to determine the root cause of the issue you are asked to solve. On the other hand, you must move fast. Unlike an employee, there is no “on-boarding” time for you; you need to put in the hours to understand the environment, culture, players and issue as quickly as possible. You were hired because you are the expert and you must demonstrate that expertise quickly in the relationship.

Assuming you met your deliverables and solved the problem (and perhaps a few additional issues) how do you end the assignment successfully? I firmly believe that you thank your stakeholder personally–either in person or with a hand-written card. I realize that in this day of email, it is easier to hurriedly spew of a few lines, but I believe it is much more meaningful to do it in person. Secondly, write up a transition plan prior to your departure, highlighting what you have accomplished, where documentation is located and any follow-up activities to ensure what you suggested or created remains active in the organization. Finally, make sure you connect on LinkedIn and even ask for a recommendation, while your success is present in the client’s mind.

What have you done to ensure a strong beginning or end to projects you have worked on?