I helped a friend pack up his apartment last weekend.

After 33 years in the same cozy space, Steve made a snap decision to jump on a vacancy at a coveted senior living center across town.

So now came the dreaded part.

Three decades of belongings — books, clothes, furniture, drawers, closets, and cabinets — all needed to be combed through and packed, tossed or donated.

I reported for duty, and when he suggested I focus on getting his clothes packed into suitcases, I got right to work.

As he’s sorting through catch-all drawers in his bedroom, I’m filling up suitcases, and before we knew it, his closet was empty.

“I can’t believe how fast you did that.” Steve said.

And I was pretty surprised too — I’m usually an extremely slow packer.

Then it hit me. I had an easy job:

Clothes —> suitcases.

I wasn’t deciding what to keep vs. toss.

I wasn’t gauging whether I’d ever wear something again.

And I certainly wasn’t having memories and emotions triggered with each shirt, pant, and blazer.

I was an ambivalent machine - robotically executing a manual task.

This simple example is an analog for how I think about client service.

I could offer myself, like I did at Steve's, as brute-force, 'agentic' labor.

‘Tell me what you need, and I’ll do it for you.’

It would certainly mean a straightforward transaction — in some cases, even a lucrative one.

But increasingly, there are AIs and other purpose-built tools for this.

And we should welcome them to filter out such order-taking work.

Instead, I offer myself as an expert — a thinker, a creative, a visualizer.

Something intangible, almost mystical, that relies on my unique micro-judgements at every step to resolve an intimate pain point.

That role and that positioning flips the conversation.

You’re not a cost, you drive value.

You’re not an invoice, you’re an investment.

You’re not a contractor. You’re a partner.

I was a contractor for Steve (a free one, of course).

It was helpful in the moment, and got him one step closer to his move.

But I left him on the hook for the real work…

When he gets to his new closet, and has to decide there what doesn’t fit.

As you think about your offer(s):

Are you hired help? Or a human helper?

Are you clear about that?

💡

-Wes

P.S. Need help distilling your value story, visually?

Check out the new visual explainer for The "Intellectual Headshots" Sprint.

March is filling up. Book a free exploratory call to see if it's the right step for you.