Description
Author, speaker and management consultant Lencioni (The Three Signs of a Miserable Job) preaches a business model that may seem antithetical to many, which he calls “getting naked”: being unafraid to show vulnerability, admit ignorance, and ask the dumb questions when dealing with clients. Lencioni’s central argument is that by focusing on sales, rather than communication, consultants miss the key part of their job-consulting-and therefore lose out on valuable long-term client relationships. Presented mostly as a parable about a management consultant trying to reconcile two firms in a merger, Lencioni’s latest is entertaining as well as informative, with a message that sticks (heavy-handed though it may be). Straightforward and widely applicable, Lencioni’s advice should prove useful not only for business consultants, but anyone trying to build long-term client relationships. (Feb.) (PublishersWeekly.com, February 22, 2010) I’m not going to lie; Michael Casey was one of my least favoritepeople in the world. Even the mention of his name could put me in amoderately bad mood. And so, if you had told me a year earlier that I would spendfour solid months of my professional life learning about him andhis annoying little consulting firm, I would have told you it wastime for me to change careers. But that’s exactly what happened, and I’ve lived to tell aboutit. After focusing on topics ranging from teamwork and leadership toemployee engagement and meetings, acclaimed management expert, consultant, speaker, and New York Times best-selling author PatrickLencioni has finally turned his attention toward his owncraft–consulting and client service. Tapping into the simplebut powerful model that his firm, The Table Group, has been builton for more than a dozen years, Lencioni presents what may be hismost engaging, humorous book yet. Getting Naked tells the remarkable story of a managementconsultant who is trying desperately to merge two firms with verydifferent approaches to serving clients. One relies onvulnerability and complete transparency; the other focuses onproving its competence and protecting its reputation forintellectual prowess. In the process of managing the merger, theconsultant is forced to learn life-changing lessons that prove tobe as relevant as they are painful. As he does in his other books, Lencioni provides readers withconcepts that are accessible and compelling. Here, he explains thethree fears that provoke service providers–whether they areinternal consultants, sales people, financial advisors, or anyoneelse serving long-term clients–to unknowingly sabotage theirability to build trust and loyalty. And, as always, Lencioniprovides a practical approach for overcoming those fears.
