I’ve been in meetings for the last couple of days with a large prospective client that would be a great “innovative first” in an area we are growing into and wanting to further explore. I’ve been courting this prospect for over a year now; last year I got a good referral to a department head while the client was considering doing the project, but it didn’t go very far due to existing relationships they already had in place. That faded into a memory, but I stayed in touch through our nurture marketing plan.

About a month ago, this department head sought us out again. They were once again interested in working with us, albeit on a smaller scale because even if the larger organization couldn’t get everything lined up, they wanted to on their own. Had a good meeting, but then we hit the roadblocks of organizational politics… or so I thought. This time, however, a meeting with the president materialized and everything has been flowing downhill since. My approach to foundational project work is completely different from the (failed) attempt they did last year, and over and over again my prospect is referring back to things I’ve said and how this is “the right way to go about it.” That just makes you feel good, you know?

What I wanted to write about today, though, was one thing he said yesterday that hit home with me. I don’t want to forget it, because often I do. The president was talking to a group of department heads about why this approach would be different than last year. He came out and said something like (in reference to the original department head I met witn), “I asked _____ if Chet was the man for the job, and he said was. We’re doing this right this time. It’s going to cost more. It’s going to take more effort. But in the end it will be done right, and the path we’re going down now is that right way.” (that’s a paraphrase, minus the “man for the job” line)

“The man for the job.” Set apart. Right time, right place, right people. Love it, love it, love it. My love of community and good communication has found a home in this project, and I can’t wait to embark on it. There are shared values all around, even to the point of a shared love of virtual community becoming real such as has been the case at the Daily Audio Bible. God is in this, and when you hear a client about ready to spend a pretty penny on a project say these words, and your gut tells you the same, it’s like nothing can knock you down.

Oh, and I got my tractor running last night. <<Fist Pump>>