Awareness of Pitfalls - Assuming we are smarter than them
We have all met arrogant IT staff. Be it the helpdesk technicians who talk down to the users about how stupid they are for not understanding what they are saying, or the high-handed system administrators who believe the perfect number of users for his pristine system is zero! When we look to move from users to customers, we need to approach this with a child-like simplicity. We need to be humble, to ask basic questions, to form a mutual understanding and ensure that we are on the same level as our former users. This will require us to be patient and to risk failing forward. Sometimes the process of failing in front of the customer can show them and your team that you are human, humble and also in it with them. Do not be regarded as one of those aloof IT divas; recognize what you do not know, and ask for help. People love to give advice; you do not need to take the advice your customer offers, but by canvassing their opinion you are engaging with them on a personal level, and starting to treat them more as valuable partners , rather than pesky users.
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