Quick and lasting. Yes, together.
Lasting transformations can happen quickly.
How so, you say? Isn’t it the quick fix vs. the lasting transformation?
In fact, contrasting “quick fixes” and “enduring change" is something we do so naturally that we don’t even see it as an assumption worth busting.
Yes, you know from your own life that some good things do take time (natural fermentation or aged goods for example—think bread, wine, cheese, yeast).
But the length of time put in is no guarantee for how good something can or will be (ex: a wine that disappoints, or a long-awaited novel or solution that underwhelms, a masterpiece that misses). And I say this as someone who loves evolving and refining an idea, insight, or tool over a long period of time, and seeing it deepen and mature.
Conversely, a quick result can endure. And that means a lasting change can happen in a heartbeat.
Of course—to reach this place requires real expertise. It means knowing how to work with your client, effectively and efficiently.
If you’ve been doing what you do for any length of time, you know that you can do more for your client in less time than when you were first starting out in your field.
That’s in part why billing by the hour makes less and less sense as you hone your expertise. As a wise man recently told me: “The only place time spent matters is in prison.”**
We’ve all seen or experienced an expert cut through the clutter and sure-handedly do the right maneuver, ask the cogent question, or offer the right re-frame that's transformative, yet elegant and simple. The whole process feels clear, light, or buoyant.
You may have seen this in your own work: a hesitant client feels more confident. Or, if you do mind-body work, your client may even be standing taller, or experience a release of tension or pain.
The truth of your situation means holding two opposing thoughts in your mind at once. Your idea, concept, or skill set, once honed over time and now distilled and concise can create, with immediacy, a lasting transformation for someone.
Your work can have a gravitas and meaning, yet feel concise, vibrant, and light.
In what feels like a (magic) instant, your client, thanks to your deft expertise, can see their circumstances anew and begin to acquire the tools to grow into the person they want to be. All the while, you know behind the scenes the time and expertise it's taken to get you to this place.
At root, it's about the value you provide.
Clients aren’t paying you for labor (how long the fix took you to create), though knowing about your training, and the weeks, months, or years put into your method or artistry helps to justify the value they receive.**
Rather, they are paying for the benefits that change their lives for the better, both in terms of how quickly those benefits begin (and trust me beginning to see real, tangible benefits is BIG to someone who has been stuck) and how long the changes last.
Of course, this first enduring change for your client doesn't mean everything is solved (or that your work is done), but it is a meaningful first step—a real win and transformation.
Now, your turn.
Tell me how you are, or want to be, an agent of transformation for your client (and I know you pride yourself on creating for your client—or co-creating with your client—lasting change).
And then let me know how you could do your work or offer your services - more concisely—distilling your expertise to create a light, quick win for your clients on a path of lasting change?
That is the real story—and the one that you need to be telling.
**Curious about value pricing? Check out Ditching Hourly, a new podcast with Jonathan Stark, Episode 5. Insights about labor and time-spent in that episode inspired, in part, this post