Begin with discovery, not pitch

technique — attributed to Philip Dufour

The first meeting with a client should be a conversation, not a proposal. Ask: What is the mission? What emotional state should guests leave in? Who are the stakeholders? How does this event align with your organization's identity? Strategy comes only after the answers.

Dufour calls this "becoming one with the client" — and treats it as the difference between producing logistics and producing transformation.

client-intake, discovery, strategy, positioning