December book: a business fable about why the quality of vulnerability can be crucial in business
This article opens a series of afterwords for books I read. My goal is to read at least one book a month. So every month — a new article. Today it’s about “Getting naked” by Patrick Lencioni. This is a very easy-to-read book; I swallowed it in one day. And it’s indeed a fable! Lately, I started to read more business books, so actually switching to something else, like a story, but still getting a dose of business wisdom, was great!
The plot is simple — the main character Jim, consultant in a big company “K&B”, is responsible for the merge of his company and a smaller consulting firm, “Lighthouse Partners” which often beats “K&B” for top clients. Jim has to spend a few months working closely with “Lighthouse Partners” to understand what is it that makes them so much better than “K&B” when it comes to winning their client's loyalty. And this mission turns out to be the greatest lesson for him about what it means to provide value to your clients.
No to spoil, getting naked means to be okay to be vulnerable, honest, humble, open while doing business with your clients. Jim learns that the “Lighthouse Partners” ‘ success is in a certain kind of fearlessness its consultants have. Before I tell you about those 3 fears you have to overcome to become a great consultant, think if you want to read my article further. It doesn’t mean there will be no point to read the book afterward. It takes you through the whole journey Jim made and also gives you an overview from the perspective of a big corporation. I picked only the essentials, lessons. So it’s now up to you — if you are afraid to lose interest in the book by reading my summary, don’t read further! 🖖
Fear #1: Fear of losing the business. It’s not about not caring about the client. It’s about being focused on saying and doing whatever is in the client's best interest, without worrying about repercussions. Book refers to this as to “tell the kind truth.” It can cost you a client, but when this boldness comes not alone but in a package with a genuine interest in the client's success and help, it can be a great tool to build trust.
Fear #2: Fear of being embarrassed or looking stupid in front of a client. To overcome this fear, Jim learns the next rules: ask dumb questions, make dumb suggestions, and celebrate your mistakes. After all, we are all humans. And it’s in the interest of both sides to be fully onboard. Of course, if you shoot out only dumb questions and only dumb suggestions, you are probably just incompetent in what you are doing. But as long as you offer your service with no ego attached and with good intentions, your client will not mind sifting through not-so-good ideas to find the one, which will bring you both to success.
Fear #3: Fear of feeling inferior. If the fear of being embarrassed is about the pride of not wanting to be wrong or looking stupid, the fear of inferior is about humility-the quality of having a modest view of your own persona, not needing to be the center of attention, doing dirty work, sometimes letting the credits to be taken by your client. In the end, it’s not about you and how awesome you pitched your ideas to a client. It’s about the client succeeding with your help. And once again, when it comes to “telling the kind truth”, being “smart” bold, having a genuine interest in the client's case, and helping out, it won’t be taken as a weakness or be less respected. The author emphasizes that based on his own experience, clients come to trust and respect service which does this, and ultimately will think more highly of you. As it is admirable when people willingly set their egos aside and make the needs of others more important than their own.
I hope I only made you more curious about this book and you will add it to your reading list. Thank you for staying with me until these words 🌸 Do good, be kind, think open-minded 🌸 And happy reading!
