A classic rookie mistake is giving the client what they ask for, because often the client doesn’t know what is the right way to achieve their larger goal.

So even as a client comes to you and orders up a specific solution, the most important thing is to bring your intuition, experience and naiveté about the client’s request, and think deeper about how to achieve what they are trying to accomplish.

This will invariably be different then their specific request, but any company that wants to live beyond a few years and a few flashy press cycles will build products, websites or experiences that last and that outpace the original brief.