Managing Quality in Architecture

♦ align actual practice with vision and strategy,

From this, I conclude, with confidence, that the very best client relationships - where consultants enjoy a 'trusted advisor' status, where price is way down on the list of client priorities, and where clients keep returning, are those where:
♦ the relationship is focused on the client's business rather than the client's project;
♦ the client sees the consultant as expert in key aspects of her own business;
♦ consultants measure the value of their solutions by the effect they will have on the client's business.
All of which I sum up as 'solution seeking', a hallmark of the 'high-quality practice'.

We are, by training and inclination, first and foremost problem solvers. We are very good at it. But that skill presumes a problem has been identified -which is often not the case. Sometimes there is a stated or apparent problem, masking a deeper, more complex issue. Solving the surface problem is not really helping the client.