"Design Is A Job" so defend your process!

Chapter 6 of Mike Monteiro's Design Is A Job was a tough pill to swallow for me. Monteiro tells of an experience where a client asked him to present up-front sketches (a step that typically came later in Monteiro's design process). When he turned the client down and explained his reasoning, they hired him! Gutsy move that paid off in this situation. What I wondered as I read the account, was if that strategy would play out so well for a less-established designer?

I know I've been guilty of breaking my process in order to please a client. Monteiro explains that relaying your process to a client should happen before they hire you. I think that's probably the critical step that I'm missing. I've tried to hint at my process on my new portfolio site, but perhaps I should go back and do some editing to outline specifics.

A warning Monteiro gave details the way a client may try to break your process. He says to guard against clients that:

• ask for visuals right away
• want you to work out of order
• want to do your work for you
• block your access to others in the organization
• rush!
• "waffle" over decisions
• ignore goals in favor of organizational politics
• want to try trendy ways of doing things

Seeing this list makes me recognize times through my career where these things have likely happened. I'll be sure to keep this close-at-hand for future jobs in an effort to stick to my process no matter what the client thinks is the best plan.