A Personal Reflection…
A couple of weeks ago, I was golfing with a friend I first met as a client 16 years ago. In that moment, I was struck by something unexpected: some of the most meaningful relationships in my life didn’t begin as friendships, but rather they began as client engagements.
I can point to a few close friendships today that were once defined by project scopes, deliverables, and deadlines. Over time, those relationships evolved into ones built on trust, vulnerability, and empathy, where we supported each other not only through professional challenges, but personal ones as well.
Somewhere along the way, those relationships stopped being solely about “client” and “consultant” and became rooted in mutual respect, trust, and shared purpose. The human and emotional dimension of business relationships isn’t often talked about, but it is just as critical as the intellectual partnership. The trust it fosters ultimately leads to better insights, stronger decisions, and more meaningful outcomes.
This reflection also made me think about how our industry is evolving. While AI is undeniably increasing efficiency and capability, it is also changing how we engage. As AI platforms take on more of the analysis and output, we may unintentionally reduce the number of human interaction points along the way. And with that, the opportunity to build meaningful relationships may quietly shrink.
You might be able to automate insights, but you can’t automate trust. And you certainly can’t automate friendship.
If anything, this realization has reinforced my commitment to investing in relationships, not just deliverables. It’s important to me not only to demonstrate expertise, but to truly understand and empathize with my clients. As our tools become more powerful, our humanity becomes even more important - not less.
There are far too many of you to name individually, but I hope you know how much your friendships have meant to me both in my career and in my life. When I look back, it won’t just be the work I remember. It will be the people. The conversations. The trust. The friendships that started with a business question and became something far more meaningful.
I thank you for that. 😊