#Favourite child alert

I have two teenage daughters.  Each of them often throw in the verbal hand grenade that is “#favouritechildalert” when they think the other is getting preferential treatment.  Even though I like to consider myself a calm, unflappable, grounded woman, those words create a surge of panic inside.  And it pisses me off.  In my head, nothing could be worse than them feeling they have been treated differently, especially as I’ve tried since the moment the second one came along to be fairer than fair.

The thought led me to consider whether we have favourite clients.  Of course we do.  Those wondrous people who were born with ‘collaborative’ as a middle name; who brief like a pro; who challenge us and in return want to be challenged; who operate with a positive mindset in joint pursuit of something special; who, very importantly, can match our appetite (for fun) over Christmas lunch.  If you are one of those, we don’t just favour you, we love you.

Does it mean we treat you differently to clients who aren’t like that?  Actually (and sorry), no.  Those years of being fair as a mother (despite the hashtag allegations) run through me like a stick of rock.  For those who haven’t yet transitioned across into the favoured land, we try hard to take them on a journey, to help them see the benefits that a full, joyful and 100% shoulder-to-shoulder working partnership can bring.  And when it works it’s like leading the proverbial horse to water, then watching with glee as it takes a big slurpy guzzle.

I guess the biggest difference we see between the two is the one that really matters to the money men.  For the former, the outcomes are always bigger, better and more immediate which means much more successful campaigns.  That’s not because we like you more, it’s just because when two groups of people come together with ambition, hope, good will and a collaborative spirit – things happen.

With such obvious financial benefits, perhaps we should run more straight-talking ‘be a better client’ workshops.  But I’ll have to come up with a better name!

Here’s to a year of #positivepartnerships in 2023.  Can’t wait for those Christmas lunches 🙂

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