Celebrating Friendships and Camaraderie With our Clients

By Geeta McCormack

July 30th is International Friendship Day. A day to celebrate friendships and the resulting camaraderie and collaboration to create a better world for the greater good. This month Forum reflects on our enduring friendships. 

As consultants we have the opportunity to work with clients at multiple organizations and often across multiple industries. When you are locally based, the relationship built during the consulting engagement may extend well beyond the time you spend on a particular project. This is one of the benefits of consulting that I enjoy the most: the opportunity to build and retain long-term friendships. 

I met Gene Boes almost 20 years ago when he was a Director at Microsoft, and I had the privilege of working with him as a consultant. Gene was an exceptional client, thoughtful and caring about the experience of his team, stakeholders and the vendor/consulting resources assisting with various project efforts. He had a clear vision but was open to collaborating with others. 20 years later, the same holds true. We are still working together, sometimes on projects for his organization and sometimes on efforts that cross over into common interest areas benefiting our community. 

Gene is now the CEO of Northwest Center (NWC), a non-profit organization committed to advancing opportunities for children and adults with disabilities. NWC partners with organizations that employ people with disabilities or provide tools and services in support of families in need in our community. The team at Forum is also committed to making a positive impact in our community. We have provided resources to various pro bono pandemic-related efforts over the last 16 months, including an effort to address the PPE gap impacting front line and essential workers and building a resource platform to help families navigating autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Through Gene and NWC, Forum was able to connect with SKILLS, Inc., a local company with a diverse and inclusive workforce. SKILLS joined the PPE effort to assemble and distribute masks, providing an opportunity to keep their workforce productive and cover costs. Gene also connected Forum to NWC families so they could share their input and perspective on the ASD family resource platform. A platform, that when launched, will help them and other families in our community navigate their ASD journey.

I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Gene 20 years ago that resulted in friendship and a track record of collaboration and support that aligns with our mutual community commitment. This is the best outcome of any client engagement…moving beyond engagement-specific project relationships to genuine long-term connection and collaboration on efforts to create positive impacts in our community.