April 4, 2005: Some really worthwhile posts at 37sig (1, 2, 3) notwithstanding, there is no easy formula or Venn diagram* for successful project or client management. You don't simply Discover. Define. Design. Develop.^TM your way to a great design. No, as Jeff suggests, design is messier than that. But there are ingredients. One of them is trust. In particular, you need your clients to trust you, to trust your perspective, your experience, your process (whatever it is). And you have to earn that trust.

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