Applying a Client-Centered Value Strategy ◾ 77
I then needed to talk to the chief executive of the organization to under-
stand the picture he had in his head and what he wanted to achieve. So I set
up a meeting with him and talked with him for an hour and a half.
During that M1 meeting, I asked him the same question, “Knowing what you
now know about this problem executive, would you still hire him for that role?”
He replied, “Absolutely not!”
I asked, “Would you hire this person for any role in the organization?”
He replied, “Absolutely not!”
So I asked him a few additional clarifying questions.
“What does the board say?”
“The board says get on with running the company.”
“So what are you going to do?”
Having clarified his thinking and made his decision, he smiled and said,
“You realize you’re talking yourself out of a trip to Europe?”
“What’s the point in me going over to Europe to run a workshop for
someone who really shouldn’t be in the organization?” I said. We both knew
the answer.
The chief executive bit the bullet and put an exit package in place for the
problem executive. When I met with him at the end of the year, he was in a
much better place. There was a huge weight off his mind, and he was run-
ning a happier, more effective organization.
I was a Trusted Advisor to that CEO and his company. I had established
peer-level respect and trust. In client engagements, I always ask myself,
“What is the right thing to do here?” That was my question in this case. It
is not about me getting a day’s training; it is about what is right for the cli-
ent. Your bag with its various solutions can be like a comfort blanket, to be
wrapped around every issue the client presents. Moving to Level 3 Trusted
Advisor and adopting the value creation consultative selling model approach
means dropping the bag of solutions and going in naked—metaphorically
speaking—without any preconceived solutions.
Ultimately, we were retained to conduct a senior management devel-
opment process with the European division. The problem executive had
already accepted his package and was working out his notice, but he asked
if he could attend and participate in the program. During that program, he
was one of the happiest people in the room. He had been miserable in his
role. Taking that decision had relieved everyone of major stress and freed
the person and the organization up to move forward.
I told this client my dentist story, which I like to recall when I sense pro-
crastination in the decision-making process.