When Gut Feeling Trumps a Month's Work

I just threw out almost a month’s worth of work.

The work was good. The client was happy.

I thought it was a home run initially.

But as we got closer to finishing, minor issues kept popping up.

Some parts just didn't fit right.

The story flowed, but not as smoothly as it should.

Then I got that feeling in my gut that something wasn't right.

You know that voice in your head that keeps asking questions?

Always listen to that voice.

For a week, I flipped through the presentation.

Changing words here and there, tightening concepts.

The voice got louder.

It’s off.

It’s wrong.

Then, late one night, it hit me.

I saw the better story—the whole thing from start to finish.

A fresh and powerful take on our concepts.

In just twenty minutes, I wrote a new draft.

Ten minutes later, I sent it to the client with a note.

I told them exactly what I was thinking.

I said I was worried we hadn't gotten it just right.

We had something good, but we could have something great.

And I showed them what I thought great looked like.

That wouldn't be fair to the client if I had just said there was a problem without offering a solution.

But by giving options, we can talk about the new work versus the old.

Not every client will love this approach.

But I've never met anyone who didn't appreciate that I'm trying to make the work as good as possible.

Isn't that what we owe the people who pay us?

I think so.