It’s easy to maintain when the going is easy and everything works as planned. In real life, projects fall over, plans fail and projections underperform. What does mutual benefit look like now?
This depends largely on the maturity level in the relationship. If it’s in infancy, we revert to “The customer is always right.” mentality. We take it on the chin and do a better job next time.
When the relationship is more mature following the above approach quickly leads to abuse and advantage. The level of maturity offers the opportunity to engage in frank discussions regarding the sharing of responsibility and consequences in a way that is fair and equitable.
At the end of the day, healthy relationships require two healthy experiences.
This is always to mutual benefit.