Lesson 1: Genuine care and enthusiasm build strong relationships.

As a Data Manager, I had the opportunity to visit one of our clients (it was my first time). The discussion was about kick-starting a new study. I was proud to represent my company and my department to an important client of ours. I had been working with this client for just a couple of years but had already managed a good number of projects.

After the meeting, we were invited to the data and project management offices to introduce ourselves. To my great surprise, as soon as I started to say, "Hi, I'm Gregoire," I would get interrupted by people almost shouting at me with happy and open faces: "Yes, Gregoire! This is me, Jutta... Bernd... It's so good to see you in person!" This was in 2012 when video calls weren’t a thing. We would exchange emails and phone calls, but we never knew each other’s faces. So imagine those almost-strangers excited to come and greet me.

Looking back, trying to understand, I explain this warm welcome because I just liked my work and cared seriously about people so my enthusiasm was communicative. I remember on the trip back to our office, the client success manager saying something like, “We should take you to clients more often.”