I recently had the first call with a new client. Unusually, they and their company were not totally clear on the context for bringing me in as a coach, just that they felt it would be valuable.
As I do with all new clients, I introduced the concept of Context and what it means. Over the first few sessions with new clients we always seek to land on a Context for our relationship, the “Why” for our work together. Some examples in recent years are CHALLENGE, BRAVERY, ELEVATE, and INSIGHTS.
As we weren’t there yet for this client, I was very aware that as we went through our first long conversation (well over ninety minutes long), I frequently and consciously reference the context of what we were discussing, the underlying why, the driver for that particular line of thought or topic.
A recent personal example is that I had planned to spend a chunk of money on landscaping and steps for the front of my house. However, this house is not a “forever home”, so my context was VALUE. I then had the local estate agent I bought it through come around to both give me a current valuation of the house after all the upgrades I made, then also to give their view on whether or not to do the work on the landscaping. Their take was clear, that I had spent so much already that I was at or close to a ceiling on the valuation anyone would put on a house in this location, so any money spent on this would not be reflected in the valuation. I then cancelled the work.
A few days later, in a “carpe diem” mood, I decided to research if any cars were on the used car market that met the specification of a favourite type of car I’ve had twice in the past, a BMW 3 series estate with manual transmission and a petrol engine. They are rare, as so many people over the years wanted instead to have a big SUV with Auto and Diesel. The good news is that when I do find one available, the price for a 3 to 4 year old one is terrific, roughly half the new price. I’m therefore going to look at the car in a few days’ time and may well trade in my excellent but boring car for one that is more FUN. Of course, I have also rationalised that in two ways, one that the upgrade will cost less than the money saved on landscaping, and two that this is likely the last fun car I will ever own as we move as a society to fewer and fewer cars, with those that remain more utilitarian and less fun.
So, context applies everywhere.