When I recently wrote a business objective plan, the guide asked for unquestionable standards.
Five polished stones.
I hadn’t considered this in detail, but found the answers obvious to me. Read on their own, they could sound like a motivational poster, so here is what they mean in practice.
Principled: if I can’t do the job, I say so before we start. I’ve often been able to introduce the client to someone who can.
Responsible: if it’s my mistake, I fix it and tell you. I’m not going to hide the things that slip through when juggling large, complicated projects.
Persistent: a stubborn problem gets another go. There are often several ways to deal with a challenge, and I keep going until I’m satisfied the results are up to standard.
Truthful: if I spot a problem, you hear about it early. This way we can talk it through and agree a way forward.
Punctual: the files arrive when I said they would. Years of experience mean I have a good idea of how long things take, so I can deliver on time.
As I said, these are obvious to me, but perhaps not so obvious to potential clients. Which of these has a freelancer let you down on most?