Getting Naked

Getting Naked

A Business Fable…About Shedding the Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty
By Patrick Lencioni


Another extraordinary business fable from the New York Times bestselling author Patrick Lencioni

  • Offers a key resource for gaining competitive advantage in tough times
  • Shows why the quality of vulnerability is so important in business
  • Includes ideas for inspiring customer and client loyalty
  • Written by the highly successful consultant and business writer Patrick Lencioni

This new book in the popular Lencioni series shows what it takes to gain a real and lasting competitive edge.


Recommendation


Being vulnerable takes guts, especially in business. But the payoff, explains best-selling author Patrick Lencioni, is strong, honest client relationships that engender trust and allegiance. Lencioni puts forth his “naked service” model via a story about a fictitious consultant named Jack Bauer (not to be confused with the main character on the TV show “24”). Jack, an up-and-comer at a big consulting firm, is put in charge of the newly acquired Lighthouse Partners. He’s initially reluctant to embrace Lighthouse’s nonconformist tactics, but when he opens his mind to their possibilities, he has a life-changing experience. Through Jack, you learn about the three fears that block naked service and how to master them. Instead of writing a novel, Lencioni could just have outlined the naked service model in a dozen pages and, in fact, he does so at the end of the story. However, using a business fable as a vehicle is a simple, fun, engaging and relatable way to teach his concepts.


Takeaways


  • “Naked service” calls for being vulnerable and creating trusting, open relationships with clients as depicted by the fictitious story of Jack Bauer.
  • When Bauer took charge of a merger between his employer, a big consulting firm, and a smaller consultancy, Lighthouse, he learned about naked service.
  • Naked service requires providers to master three primary professional fears: the fear of losing business, of being embarrassed and of feeling inferior.
  • Lighthouse founder Michael Casey established principles to help consultants and other professionals overcome these fears, such as focusing on helping, not on selling.
  • “Ask dumb questions” and provide obvious suggestions without chagrin.
  • Tell clients the truth, even when they don’t want to hear it.
  • Be willing to “take a bullet” for your clients, such as accepting blame for problems you didn’t cause to remove the burden from your customers.
  • Show the client that you are willing to do the hard “dirty” work.
  • Strengthen your relationship with the client by being honest about your shortcomings.
  • Being your authentic self, flaws and all, is the way to connect and build trust.

Summary


Uncovering “Naked Service”

Businesspeople are supposed to be confident and self-assured, so most try to project that image. They work to hide their mistakes and imperfections. However, when you let people see you for who you really are, you can make real connections and build trust. In the service industries, showing your vulnerability, or “getting naked,” is particularly effective in fostering closer client relationships. Most people resist showing vulnerability, but if you overcome this fear you will build stronger relationships, receive more referrals and spend less time haggling over fees. The following business fable illustrates the power of “getting naked”:

Once Upon a Time…

Jack Bauer was a rising star at the management consulting firm Kendrick and Black in San Francisco. As head of sales in the strategy division, he often lost competitions for new business to a small consultancy named Lighthouse. Jack was relieved when he heard that Lighthouse founder Michael Casey was leaving the firm to “spend more time with his family,” usually a euphemism for being eased out after making a big mistake. Jack’s euphoria dwindled when K&B’s founder, Jim Kendrick, told him the firm had bought Lighthouse and Jack was now in charge of the merger. Uneasy, Jack discussed his new duties with his boss, Marty Shine, who admitted that he saw Casey as “self-righteous” and “phony.” Marty viewed Lighthouse as a “country club” where no one worked nights or weekends. He said Lighthouse people wouldn’t last at K&B. “More than anything else,” Marty said, “we just have two completely different cultures.”

Getting to Know You

A few days later, Jack drove to Lighthouse’s office in a pretty coastal town to meet the staff. The office, a former school, retained some of its original charm. From the parking lot, Jack could see a blue and white lighthouse in the distance. Lighthouse partner Amy Stirling greeted Jack from the reception desk where she was filling in for the honeymooning receptionist. Michael Casey had already left the firm, but Amy introduced her fellow remaining partners, Dick Janice and Matt O’Connor. Dick, the oldest partner at 50-something, greeted Jack calmly. Matt, a young man, seemed more nervous. Jack began by detailing his background and filling them in about K&B. He didn’t say that K&B bought Lighthouse primarily to remove the competitive threat. He asked the partners how business was going. Matt explained that they were busier than ever and even had to turn away a few clients. Jack was shocked at the idea of dismissing paying business.

“Clients come to trust naked service providers because they know that they will not hold back their ideas, hide their mistakes or edit themselves in order to save face.”

As the group reviewed Lighthouse’s financials, Jack was stunned to see that it employed very few junior consultants, the cheap workforce that was the backbone of K&B. He was even more surprised that Lighthouse charged higher fees than K&B. Jack went back to K&B and reviewed his first day at Lighthouse with Marty. The following Friday, they met with Dick, Matt and Amy in K&B’s offices to explore how Lighthouse beat them in getting clients and earned higher fees. Jack began the meeting by going over K&B’s strategic techniques and models. The Lighthouse partners asked intelligent questions and presented their backgrounds. They described using methods similar to K&B’s, except that they spent much more time on-site with clients.

“Once a client trusts you and really understands that you care more about them than about yourself, they usually stop worrying about micromanaging the cost or seeing if they can take advantage of you.”

When Jack went to Lighthouse the next week, Amy wondered why he hadn’t inquired about Michael Casey. It turned out that Casey did leave to spend time with his family, but that was because his daughter and her family had been in a terrible car accident. His son-in-law died; his daughter was severely injured, and Michael and his wife were caring for their two little girls. Humbled, Jack asked Dick, Matt and Amy why Michael didn’t sell the company to them. Matt explained that by selling it to K&B, Michael had secured each partner’s financial security.

Dick’s Approach

Jack still couldn’t pinpoint exactly why Lighthouse was so successful. Then he went on a sales call with Dick. First, they went to see a client, Charlie, the marketing head of a successful Mexican restaurant chain. Greeting Dick warmly, Charlie asked him to check some new material from the chain’s marketing firm. Dick frowned at the mock-ups of stereotypical Mexican restaurant artwork. He reminded Charlie that the company had decided to get away from standard Mexican fare. Charlie replied that Mike, the owner, liked the art. Dick immediately found Mike and tactfully but firmly said, “I’m not going to pay 19 bucks for Chilean sea bass at a restaurant that looks like that.” Mike wasn’t happy, but he also wasn’t affronted by Dick’s directness. He conceded, “Neither would I.” When Jack questioned Dick’s bluntness, he quoted Michael Casey, who asked, “If we weren’t willing to tell the client the kind truth, why should they pay us?”

“Our clients have treated us more like real partners and team members than as vendors or outsiders.”

At a typical K&B sales meeting, Jack would make a presentation about the firm and explain how it could help a potential client. Dick’s approach was very different. When they met with Lighthouse’s prospect, the CEO of a transport firm, Dick asked questions and let the client talk. Soon, they were discussing a problem that was bothering the CEO. Dick continued to probe and offer suggestions. The client asked if they could continue the conversation at his firm’s staff meeting the following week. When the CEO asked about fees, Dick replied that they could figure it out after the next meeting. The prospect came on board so easily, Jack felt bewildered. He thought, “I am a salesman. Dick is just a consultant. He didn’t do any selling…he just went in there and started helping them.” Dick explained that Lighthouse began each client relationship by focusing on issues. Then the partners decided whether to take the client. When Jack asked why they would turn away clients, Dick explained they didn’t want to waste time if they couldn’t help. He said bad clients sap your energy and, since they will never be happy, don’t give you referrals.

Casey’s Principles

As time went on, Jack began to notice that Casey’s business principles really differentiated Lighthouse. The wisdom of these principles – such as don’t be afraid to “ask dumb questions” – became apparent when Jack sat in on Amy’s meeting with a medical software firm, MediTech. As the experts threw around jargon, Amy often asked what they meant. Surprisingly, the clients didn’t respond as if she were stupid. Instead of being annoyed when she suggested something MediTech already had tried, the clients merely explained why it wasn’t feasible. When the discussion turned to a competitor with a better user interface, Amy suggested licensing the competitor’s technology rather than developing their own. Amazingly, that obvious “dumb” suggestion proved to be the solution.

“They’re paying us to help them make their company more successful, and if I had to be a trial balloon or a strategic piñata to make that happen, so be it.”

The next day, Amy met with Mikey, MediTech’s head of marketing. Mikey reacted negatively to every suggestion. Her co-workers avoided responding, but Amy was more direct. “Mikey,” she said, “You mean well. But when you approach every issue with such…negativity, it’s a real buzz kill.” Instead of getting angry, Mikey responded with cooperative self-deprecation and encouraged the other team members to speak up if they felt annoyed.

“Clients want…to know that we’re more interested in helping them than we are in maintaining our revenue source.”

Amy told Jack about a time when Casey took a hit for his client. He had created a proposal with a company’s executive committee, but the firm’s senior managers shot it down. The executive committee remained mum and let Casey withstand management’s anger. Later, he explained that taking the occasional bullet for a client is just the disagreeable side of the job. In this case, the appreciative client later referred many clients to Lighthouse.

“There is nothing more attractive and admirable than people who willingly and cheerfully set their egos aside and make the needs of others more important than their own.”

After a few months at Lighthouse, Jack learned the lesson of humility firsthand when he was advising a nonprofit regional medical center’s executives about expansion plans. Jack came to the meeting prepared to recommend against expansion based on his experience with Good Shepherd Hospital, a previous client. He made a persuasive case, but when he double-checked with his contact at Good Shepherd during a break, Jack was appalled to realize that he had based all his figures on the premise that Good Shepherd also was a nonprofit – but it was not. Keeping in mind Casey’s principle that everything must focus on the client’s needs, Jack returned to the meeting and said, “I’m afraid that everything I’ve shown you so far may have been wrong.” He explained the situation and waited for scorn. To his surprise, the doctors and executives adjusted quickly, ribbed him about wasting their time and settled in to work productively on a new solution.

“It’s all about standing there naked in front of the client. It’s about building trust.”

After several months, Jim and Marty from K&B put Jack on the hot seat. He had created a model for Lighthouse’s ongoing management based on Casey’s principles. His presentation was persuasive, but Jim admitted that because of the culture clash between the two firms, they’d decided to sell Lighthouse to another consultancy. Marty offered Jack a promotion to head of strategy at K&B, but Jack decided to stay at Lighthouse where he felt so much more comfortable.

“Getting Naked” – The Model

Providing “naked service” lets you build relationships that surpass the typical consultant-client model. Giving “naked service” means being vulnerable, humble, selfless, honest and open. This can be scary since it includes awkward or uncomfortable situations. People avoid vulnerability due to three primary fears that “naked” service providers address by following certain practices:

1. “The Fear of Losing Business”

When you act in your own interests, such as protecting your business, you are putting your client second. However, when you worry more about what your client needs, you will strengthen your relationship. To confront this fear, follow these tenets:

  • “Always consult instead of sell” – Don’t tell potential clients what you can do for them. Show them. Use each meeting to help your clients, not to sell yourself.
  • “Give away the business” – By consulting instead of selling, you may be providing your service before you have a contract. Some people will take advantage of you, but most will appreciate your willingness to dive in and help. Don’t haggle over fee disputes. Giving your customers the benefit of the doubt will pay off in the end.
  • “Tell the kind truth” – It’s tough to tell people things they don’t want to hear, but telling the truth is part of the job. Just try to tell it with tact, empathy and kindness.
  • “Enter the danger” – Don’t avoid the “elephant in the room.” If everyone is dodging an unpleasant discussion or task, you might have to handle it. Just walk right up to it.

2. “The Fear of Being Embarrassed”

Putting yourself out there is hard, but when you stop worrying about looking foolish, you can give your clients more help. If you ask obvious questions, make suggestions and admit when you’re wrong, clients will trust you. To handle this fear, use these rules:

  • “Ask dumb questions” – Don’t worry about questions that expose your ignorance. People forget the dumb questions and remember the ones that moved matters forward.
  • “Make dumb suggestions” – Throw ideas out even if they seem obvious. If you edit yourself before you even open your mouth, you might miss presenting a great idea.
  • “Celebrate your mistakes” – Being wrong is part of being human. Clients expect honesty, not perfection. Admit your mistakes, accept responsibility and keep moving.

3. “The Fear of Feeling Inferior”

Of course you want people to respect and admire you, but when you are providing a service, you are not the focus of attention. Put the spotlight on your client even if your ego takes a hit. To obviate this fear, adhere to these precepts:

  • “Take a bullet for the client” – Service providers can’t focus on placing blame. You might have to accept responsibility for a problem you didn’t create just to take the burden off your client. By doing so, you can build exceptional trust and allegiance.
  • “Make everything about the client” – If your client doesn’t succeed, you fail.
  • “Honor the client’s work” – Have an honest interest in your clients’ life work. If you can’t respect how they make their livelihood, don’t take them as clients.
  • “Do the dirty work” – Show your dedication by doing what your client needs done.
  • “Admit your weaknesses and limitations” – Don’t cover up; be yourself, do your best.

About the Author


Patrick Lencioni, a frequent public speaker, is the author of eight bestsellers, including The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. He heads The Table Group, a consultancy.

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How to Win Friends and Influence People

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How to Win Friends and Influence People

By: Dale Carnegie


You can go after the job you want—and get it!

You can take the job you have—and improve it!

You can take any situation—and make it work for you!

Dale Carnegie’s rock-solid, time-tested advice has carried countless people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives. One of the most groundbreaking and timeless bestsellers of all time, How to Win Friends & Influence People will teach you:

-Six ways to make people like you

-Twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking

-Nine ways to change people without arousing resentment

And much more! Achieve your maximum potential—a must-read for the twenty-first century with more than 15 million copies sold!


Recommendation


In the book that gave birth to the self-help genre, writer and lecturer Dale Carnegie spells out his plan for getting what you want from other people by changing your behavior. He expounds on the fundamentals of dealing with people and becoming a great leader. Carnegie developed these principles by drawing from examples of persuasive people in history, such as Abraham Lincoln, and from his own experiences. Since Carnegie wrote his book in 1935, many of his examples may seem obsolete or outmoded today, but his basic principles are timeless, eminently useable and presented in an easy-to-read and personal style.


Takeaways


  • Be genuinely interested in other people.
  • Don’t criticize, condemn or complain about people.
  • Encourage others to talk about themselves.
  • If you make a mistake, acknowledge it quickly.
  • Before criticizing someone else, talk about your own mistakes first.
  • Praise all improvements, no matter how slight.
  • If you want to change others, start with yourself first.
  • To feel important is one of the strongest human desires. Always make others feel important and never undermine anyone’s sense of importance.
  • Remember people’s names. A person’s name is the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
  • Express your ideas in a dramatic way. Use illustrations and showmanship to get your ideas across.

Recommendation


“Fundamental Techniques in Handling People”

To master the art of winning friends and influencing people, first learn and practice the three basic principles of dealing with people. Constantly remind yourself of the importance of these tenets. Review them, and consider how to apply them to your life. Employ them whenever you can, and even ask a friend, your partner or a business associate to remind you when you violate one of these precepts. As you practice, you should review your progress and keep notes showing when you have used each of these methods.

Principle 1: Be Nice

The first and foremost basic principle of handling people is to be nice. To this end, you shouldn’t criticize, condemn, or complain about people. Instead of judging people or disparaging them, you should try to understand them and to figure out why they do what they do. This way, you can be supportive, show sympathy, and be tolerant and kind. People like others who treat them in this way. Individuals respond positively to such an approach.

“Criticisms are like homing pigeons. They always return home.”

You may need to exercise self-control to refrain from expressing your negative feelings about someone else, but do so. In fact, if you have the desire to change others, it’s more profitable to refocus your concentration on yourself.

Principle 2: Find Out What They Want

A second fundamental technique is recognizing what others want and giving it to them. People have several aspirations. Some of their most common desires include health and the preservation of life, food, sleep, money and the goods and services money can buy, sexual gratification, the well-being of their children, and a feeling of importance.

“Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”

Most of these wants are usually fulfilled, except the desire to feel important, though that is a very strong basic desire. It’s the yearning that motivates individuals to wear the most fashionable styles, drive the most modern cars and seek success.

The way to understand a person’s basic character is to know what triggers his or her feeling of importance. Once you know that information, you can make that person feel important. At the same time, avoid saying or doing anything that undermines an individual’s sense of importance.

“Make the other person feel important, and do it sincerely.”

For example, when offering feedback to an employee, use incentives rather than criticism to motivate him or her. Remember, nothing kills a person’s ambitions more effectively than criticism from a superior. Offer praise where you can, and be hesitant to find fault. However, avoid insincere flattery, as this doesn’t work well. Generally, people will see it as shallow and selfish. Instead, provide honest and sincere appreciation.

Principle 3: Help Them Get What They Want

The third fundamental principle is to stimulate an eager want in others. This principle works because all individuals are interested in getting what they want. So if you want to increase your influence over other people, find out what they want to accomplish and help them achieve it. To do this, it helps to understand their point of view and examine a situation from their perspective, as well as your own.

“Six Ways to Make People Like You”

To get people to like you, pay attention to others and show you are concerned about their well-being. Follow these six fundamental rules:

The First Rule

Become genuinely interested in other people. By doing so, you can gain the attention of others and secure their cooperation again and again. By showing a sincere interest in others, you, as a manager, can deepen your employees’ loyalty to your company as well, since people see you as a representative of your organization.

The Second Rule

Make a good first impression by smiling. This is important, since actions speak louder than words, and a smile helps to show people that you like them. It demonstrates that you are glad to see them and that you want to be friendly. Of course, a smile shouldn’t be an insincere grin. People resent such false and mechanical expressions. But a heartfelt smile that comes from within will help attract people to you.

The Third Rule

Learn people’s names. You can develop a simple technique to achieve this. When you meet someone for the first time, find out that person’s name as well as some facts about his or her family, business, or interests. Visualize this information as a picture in your mind. Then, when you see that person again, you will remember it. The power of recall is critical because people value their names highly, as reflected in the way many companies are named after their founders or the way donors give large bequests to organizations that name libraries, museums or other buildings after them.

The Fourth Rule

Be a good listener, and encourage people to talk about themselves. It is especially flattering to pay exclusive attention to the person who is speaking to you, rather than looking around to see who else might be there. Listening is also a very important skill for someone in customer service. For example, if a client comes to complain, just listening attentively can help diffuse that customer’s anger. It may even make the person’s grievances disappear.

The Fifth Rule

Talk in a way that interests others. Speak about their hobbies and passions. Theodore Roosevelt mastered this skill. He was well-versed on a wide variety of topics. When he expected to meet with an important dignitary, he would study up on that person’s interests. This habit enabled Roosevelt to wow people with his wealth of knowledge. He knew that “the royal road to a person’s heart is to talk about the things he or she treasures most.”

The Sixth Rule

Find a sincere way to make others feel important. For example, ask yourself what characteristics about other people you can honestly admire. The psychologist William James said that, “the deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”

“The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.”

By showing your appreciation for others, you help nurture their feelings of self-importance. However, you need to be sincere when you show your gratitude so compliments don’t come across as insincere flattery.

“How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking”

Follow 12 techniques for convincing other people to believe what you are telling them. Consciously try to apply each method in your conversations:

  1. The only way to win an argument is to avoid it – Generally, disagreements only make others defensive, and a person who feels he or she has lost a dispute loses face. Once you get drawn into an argument, you can’t win, because if you lose it, you lose, and even if you win it, you lose. Thus, avoid engaging in a quarrel.
  2. Show respect for other people’s opinions – You don’t want to make others think you disagree with them with careless words, looks, intonations or gestures. When you challenge other people’s views, you make them want to strike back, not change their mind.
  3. Admit when you are wrong – If you make a mistake, acknowledge it quickly. Making such an admission is especially helpful when you know that others are thinking that you are wrong and want to say as much. It is easier to listen to self-criticism than criticism from others, and generally when you admit a mistake, other people are more likely to be forgiving and supportive. When you don’t, they are likely to be more critical and frustrated.
  4. Even if you are angry, begin in a friendly way – Use honey to make the medicine go down. You can’t win over someone who feels negativity toward you. But by soothing that feeling, you can start to bring that person around to your point of view.
  5. Get the other person to say “yes” in the beginning – Begin by discussing issues on which you both agree. Once you receive a “no” response, you will face a hurdle that you need to overcome, since your fellow discussant wants to remain consistent. Thus, it helps to start off with questions that will evoke a “yes” or a statement that will bring about agreement. Once the person is in the habit of saying yes, you can broach the harder questions.
  6. When dealing with complaints, let your clients do the talking – Allow them to say everything they want to say. As you listen, you will learn more about their business and their problems, and you will be in a better position to help. Listen patiently with an open mind, be sincere, and encourage your clients to express their concerns and ideas fully.
  7. Seek cooperation – Let the other party feel responsible for generating an idea. People have more faith in the suggestions that they themselves propose.
  8. See things from the other person’s point of view – Put yourself in the other person’s place so you can better understand what he or she wants and needs. This can be especially helpful if you are trying to sell someone a product or a course of action. This will help you understand what motivates the other person.
  9. Sympathize with what the other person thinks or wants – This way, even if you disagree or would do something differently, you show that you understand and empathize. Say something like: “I don’t blame you one iota for feeling as you do. If I were you I would undoubtedly feel just as you do.”
  10. Appeal to people’s higher aspirations and nobler motives – People usually have two reasons for doing something: the real reason and one that sounds good. Since people are idealists at heart and like to think they act out of good motives, you will have better luck in changing people by appealing to these positive intentions.
  11. Express your ideas in a dramatic way – By dramatizing your plans, you make them more powerful and persuasive. Use strong illustrations and showmanship to get your ideas across. This approach works well because merely stating a truth isn’t enough; the truth has to be vivid.
  12. Use a challenge to motivate others – This technique works because successful people love the chance to prove their worth. For example, the industrialist Charles Schwab once drew a large figure 6 on the floor of a mill to note how many items the day-shift employees made. The next day, when the night-shift staffers came in, they drew a 7 on the floor to show they had performed even better. That inspired the day-shift workers to toil even harder and place a 10 on the floor when they left. By expressing what he wanted, Schwab encouraged his staff to work more productively and more diligently. This tactic was more effective than if he had just asked his employees for improved work.

“Be a Leader”

If you are in a leadership position, employ nine important principles to motivate people to change without giving offense or arousing resentment:

  1. If you have to discuss a fault or a concern with someone, begin with sincere praise and honest appreciation.
  2. If someone makes a mistake, raise awareness of his or her mistakes indirectly.
  3. Before condemning another person, reveal your own mistakes first.
  4. Instead of giving someone a “direct order,” ask questions, such as “What do you think of this?” to let employees propose their own suggestions.
  5. Never put someone in a position where they lose face.
  6. Give improving employees praise, no matter how slight their progress.
  7. “Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.”
  8. Offer employees encouragement, and make their fault seem easy to rectify.
  9. Make other people feel happy about trying out your suggestions.

About the Author


Dale Carnegie was a well-known inspirational teacher and author who wrote a series of popular self-help books that sold millions of copies in the 1930s and 1940s. His books became the basis for a series of seminars and training programs and addressed the topics of self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking and interpersonal skills. How to Make Friends and Influence People was first published in 1936. It became an instant hit and remains hugely popular today. Carnegie’s other books include How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, How to Develop Self-Confidence and Influence People by Public Speaking, How to Enjoy Your Life and Your Job, and The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking. Dale Carnegie died on November 1, 1955.

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