The importance of being honest.

I sometimes encounter people who are guarded about how much they share in regards to their home design. It's often the budget. It can be quite difficult to get the true budget out of some clients. So, how important is transparency and honesty in a client\consultant relationship?

This should be no surprise to you, but it's everything. If a consultant has lost the trust of their client, or vice versa, you may as well cut ties and move on. This might seem extreme, but it is reality. I caveat this by saying though, that you should exhaust all possibilities for mediation before you take that final plunge though.

A client doesn't want to pay twice for the same service and a consultant doesn't want to do all that work and not have the home built. They have the same level of impact for both parties, believe it or not. So, what do I mean by "being honest" and how do you facilitiate that.

On the part of clients, work out what you can afford and be honest from the very start. Clearly outline any time constraints and be open to the idea that it will take longer than you expect. Allow a contingency budget, and where a mortgage is in play, advise your bank. Understand the impacts of your decisions by asking "what are the impacts of this?" at every design change, variation or clarification.

On the part of consultants, be honest about your capabilties up front. Only take on work you can comfortably succeed in. This is not a situation where you "say yes, and figure it out as you go." because the oversights will cause you more anxiety than you need. Be honest and open about mistakes and issues. Take responsibility and resolve quickly. Be malleable and open to criticism. It's your path to improvement. And sit down with your clients regularly to talk about developments and the "flow on effects" of the design progress. Err on the side of caution on changes that may or may not affect the client. If in doubt, advise the client anyway with the reasoning, logic and a solution\options.

At the end of the day, you are in this process together. Being honest and transparent leaves all the information on the table for review and better decisions can be made which will mean a better project.

Signing off,

Revell