Dear Bob ... I'm coming into a new situation from the outside. How can I shift the status quo from acceptable (marginal) to superior? My customer (not internal, a real customer) is "satisfied" with the level of service they're receiving, but we want to ratchet up the level of service and expand the scope of services provided. Yep, you guessed right, more revenue. My thoughts are to start with listening Dear Bob …I’m coming into a new situation from the outside. How can I shift the status quo from acceptable (marginal) to superior? My customer (not internal, a real customer) is “satisfied” with the level of service they’re receiving, but we want to ratchet up the level of service and expand the scope of services provided. Yep, you guessed right, more revenue.My thoughts are to start with listening, to learn what the needs are, in conjunction with real world observations on how business is done day-to-day now. Mull that about with our understanding of what solutions are possible, pilot a couple of solutions on our own nickel, and present the solutions showing the cost/productivity benefits. I see us getting the customer involved in the pilots at the level they are most comfortable with, while doing our best to build a solution that clearly shows we understand, and appreciate, their needs. Practice, right? Any thoughts you may have would be greatly appreciated.– Wandering in the desert looking for dates because I can’t seem to find my compass….Dear Wandering … It’s hard to give you concrete advice because so much depends on your client’s corporate culture and your point of contact’s personality and idiosyncracies. I also don’t know the circumstances under which you took over this account. If your predecessor left in disgrace because the client hated him (or her) it’s one thing. If it’s just a transition because your predecessor moved to a new opportunity, it’s something else.My best advice amplifies what you already have in mind: to very publicly and visibly keep your mouth shut and your ears open. In fact, you might want to consider shouting in a very loud voice that this is what you’re going to do.Spend a few weeks purely listening – to your client point(s?) of contact as often as you can meet (you need to build rapport with your point of contact), and to as many client managers as you can manage who are affected by the service your company provides. Look over the shoulders of your staff as they do their work, especially their client-facing work. If you operate a help desk, listen in on calls. Lots of calls, not only to find out how your team is handling them but what kinds of situations lead to help desk calls. Make it clear you’re doing this to get the hang of the situation, not to check up on your team, and they’ll welcome the opportunity to show you what they’re up against.Next, meet in small groups or one-on-one with your staff. Let them know you’re looking for opportunities to raise the bar – not to make their lives harder, but to make the account less vulnerable to competition or renegotiation, and to create new opportunities for the company and for them. Ask them where you’re vulnerable, and where your client has unrecognized opportunities … and why those opportunities are unrecognized. (There are lots of opportunities for companies that are threats for most of the managers and staff that work there, so you need to understand the political context as well as the business opportunity.)Speaking of the political context: Another item to ask your staff about is who the players are. It might even make sense to build yourself two organizational charts – the official one, and the real influence network in the company. When I worked on my dad’s film crews, he made a speech before we went on location, to the effect that we all had to be like Caesar’s wife: Above reproach. So before you look for revenue opportunities, raise the bar on the part of your team, so your entire engagement is above reproach. As Jim Collins puts it, establish a culture of discipline.Now you’re ready to approach your point of contact with possibilities.I’m not in love with the idea of the kind of pilots you’re describing. Among the drawbacks is that your point of contact is likely to ask how you did them on your nickel when they were done by your staff, who in theory are working full time on the client contract. You can too easily find yourself on the defensive. Even if that doesn’t happen, remember that “surprise!” isn’t one of the most appreciated phenomena in the world of the business executive. I think it would be better, after all the listening you’ve done, to meet with your point of contact and lay out the business opportunities you’ve learned about. Say something like this: “My goal is to make you a hero, not to put you in an awkward situation. If you tell me to just sit on these, that’s what I’ll do. If you’re the logical champion or sponsor for any of them and want us to move forward, let’s plan on the best way to make it happen here. Or, if it makes the most sense, I’d like your permission to pursue some of these directly with the logical business sponsor.”Doing it this way makes it clear you’re looking for opportunities on behalf of your point of contact and your client while still respecting their prerogatives, process, and political situation.At least, that’s how I’d go about it. And congratulations on the new opportunity!– Bob ——– Technology Industry