Monthly Archives: August 2017

TNF #100: Second chance

Welcome Professionals…

… Sometimes we get a second chance to please a client. Of course, we do everything we can to get to the perfect result in the first run. I am not talking about the usual iteration a concept needs to get finalized. I am talking about the situations when the project result is presented and declined completely so that you have to start all over again. These situations can really bring you down.

I had a situation like this recently. In my recruiting business, the success of a project is defined as a distinctive event: the conclusion of an employment contract. Ideally, it is a research and selection process that runs through a funnel until one top candidate is selected and employed. Ideally, we hit the success result after one run. But as the human factor kicks in, it is not completely unusual to go through this twice.

In my case, I had been through the whole process twice. Two times yielding a top candidate that the client hestitated to hire, but also hesitated to reject. We ended up with two candidates and no decision. Something about the candidates personality was feeling not quite right for the client.

To be honest, I was a bit frustrated, a bit angry and a bit clueless. What could I do? What should I do?

I finally made up my mind and figured that I was generally satisfied with the overall process. We had done the right things the right way, we just had not found the ideal candidate, yet. I changed my view and defined this as the perfect situation to demonstrate real commitment and client dedication.

We organized another project kick-off, with a briefing of objectives that were based on the learnings of the first two runs. We started all over again with a clean sheet. Now we have a second chance to please a client – for as many runs as it takes!

Keep trying,

Malte

Thursday Night Flight is brought to you by Malte Müller Professionals. Sharing best practices for top management consultants on topics like communication, client handling, problem solving, appearance, and fitness. Check out www.mm-professionals.com for more material and free resources!

TNF #099: Bicycle race

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Welcome Professionals…

… I made my first client visit by bicycle today. It felt just great.

The weather was nice and sunny and the client location was actually only 3 km away from my office. Google maps suggested the most time efficient way to get there was by bicycle. So I did.

The city of Zurich has recently been flooded by rental bikes of an Asian company. But there are plenty of other suppliers. Just across the street of my office, there is a municipal workshop, renting bicycles for free, you just need to fund a deposit.

The company I visited was a startup, where I came completely overdressed wearing suit and tie. Parking my bike in front of the door got me about break even. It felt wonderful cruising through the city, like a little refreshment during the workday. A breakout from the usual schedule.

Thank you for the suggestion Google. And thank you for renting bicycles for free, Zurich.

Keep moving,

Malte

TNF #098: Not making excuses

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Welcome Professionals…

… I just had a little car accident an hour ago. I was driving home from a client. When I was standing at a traffic light, wondering which topic I could use for my next TNF post, someone bumped into my car. Not a severe crash, it just made a few scratches. No big deal, it was more the surprise that hit me.

Let me just say so much: Don’t text and drive!

Once we had exchanged contact information and I was on the road again, I had the immediate thought: “Tonight I am going to skip the TNF post!” My mind was automatically making excuses: “I had an accident, I should now take a rest, maybe sit in the garden, enjoying the fine weather. Perhaps I suffer from a whiplash injury…”

What a nonsense! One of the typical attempts of my brain to save power and get some idle time. If your brain is somehow like mine, it will easily find the most creative excuses for skipping or postponing a chore. We must be aware of this fact and be alert that most of these immediate thoughts that keep us from pursuing a plan are just flimsy excuses trying to talk us out of something that takes attention and energy. It is the powersave mode that comes up.

With this awareness, we can push the nasty excuses aside and do what we intend to do. Like writing this post. Here it is.

Drive safely,

Malte

TNF #097: Make a list

Welcome Professionals…

… When is the last time that you have made a list of your achievements?

It is a useful exercise that can significantly increase our energy levels. Psychologists have scientifically proven that we feel happier when we write down three items that we are grateful for each night. The increased happiness is recognizeable already after a few iterations, usually after 10 – 20 days.

I got reminded of this fact when I was talking to a CEO recently. He told me how tough the market was and that he was trying hard with his team to acquire clients. He told me about the expectations of his shareholders and his day-to-day struggles when things were not developing as planned. He said something like “I wonder why I am still in this position”.

Later in the talk, when he took a list out of his drawer, he immediately lighted up. He had made a list of all the clients the company had won since he entered the company. I could see how this list changed his mood completely from sarcasm to confidence. He took pride in explaining the list and the stories behind the wins. He closed with the words “actually we have already achieved a lot”.

It is a common theme. We focus day in, day out on the gap between our status quo and our target. For each problem solved, the second biggest problem will take the spot of the first one. This can get quite exhausting. It is good to look back from time to time and take stock of our achievements.

I have this feeling everytime I prepare a list of reference projects for a proposal. It gives me a boost in my energy, confidence, and motivation. Recently, I met a consultant who took stock of all her client contacts over the last 5 years. She filled 18 pages with clients sorted into companies which were then categorized by industries. She had two findings: She wanted to build more focus and she won more confidence that she will succeed in this.

Try it, make a list!

Malte

TNF #096: Listening is the new reading

Welcome Professionals…

… I have been a regular listener of podcasts during my daily commute for a couple of years now. This summer holiday season, I additionally discovered audio books. There is quite a large selection available these days and virtually every bestseller can also be found in an audio version.

With a range of available smartphone apps you do not need to worry about large boxes with 22 CDs anymore. All what is required is an app and a download of a few hundred megabytes.

What I discovered is not only the availabilty and ease of audio books, but their increased value to reading. Reading is an activity that I enjoy, but it also consumes a lot of attention. I have been listening recently to the bestseller of Daniel Kahneman “Thinking, fast and slow” and have identified the following advantages of listening versus reading.

I find it more enjoyable, because I can listen to the book and look at the beautiful landscape at the same time. I am able to read more during my vacation time because I can combine it with other activities, like watching the kids in the pool, exercising, driving, or doing the dishes. Most importantly, during concentrated listening, it seems to give me more capacity to consider the material and transfer it to my personal life.

Enjoy your summer vacations – hopefully with a good book!

Malte