Client's intent

There is a concept in the military called "commander's intent."

The idea is that the military leader will clearly state the desired outcome of a mission and then build a plan to achieve that outcome.

Even if the plan goes to crap, the team can still innovate and find other ways to accomplish the commander's intent.

Basically, it leaves the "how" part flexible.

Similarly, most clients have a "client's intent" and it's your job as a 1099 consultant to figure out what that is and help the client get there.

The tricky part is, clients don't always articulate their intent and just give you tactical instructions. Then they feel dissatisfied when the tactics don't achieve their goals.

So whenever you feel stuck, ask yourself, or even better, ask the client, what they're really trying to accomplish.

Are they trying to achieve some technical accomplishment to help their organization build influence?

Are they trying to persuade another organization to buy-in to their initiative?

Once you figure out the client's intent, you have a lot more flexibility and opportunities to be creative.

If you get good at figuring out each client's intent, you'll have a solid 1099 career ahead of you.

Want the full playbook? Check out Going 1099.