Columbo was a popular crime drama television show in the 70’s and then again in the 90’s. He was famous for playing dumb and asking questions he already knew the answers to. He did this to confirm his logic and to get the criminal to see the error of their ways.
This approach can be extremely effective with working with difficult clients.
A typical scenario is when the client asks for a ridiculous feature. Something along the lines of, “I have a great idea! Let’s rebuild the contact object with a custom one!”
In these moments, do the Columbo, and say, “I think I know what you’re trying to do, but help me understand why you think this is a good idea”.
When they answer, keep playing dumb and keep asking “why” questions, with a slightly confused but empathic tone and look on my face.
In the above scenario, you could also include the question, “The contact object was made for the exact reason you are talking about. Why do you want to build something that already exists? Is there something else I’m not seeing here?”
This technique has several benefits. It
- avoids the tendency of jumping into solution mode
- ensures we are clear on what the client wants and why
- humbles us, so we don’t mentally belittle the client for their “crazy” idea
The takeaway
Sometimes clients have crazy ideas. Most likely they are bad ideas, but you don’t want to jump to conclusions. Instead, be cool and collected like Columbo. Play dumb for a bit, to help them walk themselves back to a good solution.