I was suffering from insomnia on Christmas morning this year.  I woke up at three am, and lay wide awake in bed for the next two hours.  Personally I blame the fact that I have no idea what a sugarplum looks like.  My imagination turns sugarplums into a cross between Audrey II and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.  When you’re dreaming of those things, of course you’re not going to be able to sleep.

At five o’clock I finally got up and went downstairs to read.  Patrick Lencioni’s latest book, Getting Naked, had been sitting in my to read pile for awhile.  Two and a half hours later the mice still weren’t stirring, but I had read the book cover to cover.  Why was I able to finish the book so quickly?  No, not because it was a picture book of people getting naked.  It’s structured as a first-person narrative, or as the author calls his works – fables.

“Getting Naked, I Recommend It”

When my uncle, Paul Vickers, recommended this book to me, he posted the following message on my facebook wall, “Getting naked, I recommend it.”  This led to several of my relatives to worry that my uncle and I had a closer relationship than any uncle and nephew should have.  I should note, lest a reader get the wrong impression, the only issue I’ve ever had with my eponymous uncle is his misguided beliefs about college basketball.  The first thing I did when I saw the comment on my wall was to search Amazon for the title, and order the book.

Now that I’ve read it, let me echo my uncle’s comment, “Getting naked, I recommend it.”

When Jack Bauer Consults for a Company, Every Competitor in That Industry Goes Bankrupt Retroactively

Getting Naked is written from the perspective of Strategic Consultant Jack Bauer.  Though he shares his name with the TV star, his mission in the book is far more pedestrian.  He is to visit a small rival strategic consulting company, Lighthouse Partners (modeled after the author’s own company The Table Group), that his global firm Kendrick and Black (modeled partly after Bain and Company) has just purchased.  What he encounters upon arrival at the smaller Lighthouse Partners is a complete culture shock, as the style of interaction at  is a big departure from the button down way that his global firm operates.

Playing to Win vs. Playing Not to Lose

Having spent seven years at global consulting firm Accenture myself, I can tell you that the approach used by the fictional global firm Kendrick and Black is very similar to the approach used by Accenture when approaching business opportunities.  It’s an approach based very much on relying on the strength of the Accenture brand, the relevant experience of the team for the project in question, and the assets that the team will bring with it from working on similar projects in the past.

Contrast this with the approach used by the Lighthouse Group, where the approach is not to attempt to sell the client on the capabilities, but rather to start consulting right away.  They show up, ask tons of questions, and give suggestions on the first day.  To do this, they  are required to strip away the fear of the company stealing their suggestions, and not hiring them.   They must make themselves vulnerable, naked as it were.

I think the most apt analogy to describe the difference in approaches between the two firms is the old sports adage,  ”Playing not to lose, rather than playing to win.”

The 3 Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty

Through the course of the book, Lencioni’s protagonist, uncovers three fears that prevent truly great service, and how they manifest themselves.

1. Fear of Losing the Business
2. Fear of Being Embarrassed
3. Fear of Feeling Inferior

Getting Naked in 12 Easy Steps

Then he illuminates twelve principles to strip away the fears and become naked as it were.

1. Always Consult Instead of Sell - Covered above, never go into a meeting preparing to sell the client on what you would do, rather just start doing it.
2. Give Away the Business - Start giving advice from day one without concern about not getting paid for it.  If the client is going to do that, they’re not the kind of client your’re going to want anyway.
3. Tell the Kind Truth - Don’t be afraid to tell the ugly truth, but do so in a way that doesn’t alienate your clients.
4. Enter the Danger - If a situation becomes tense due to the proverbial elephant in the room, don’t ignore it because its uncomfortable to talk about.  Start a discussion about the elephant.
5. Ask Dumb Questions - If you don’t know the answer to something, ask.  There are probably others in the room who don’t understand it either.
6. Make Dumb Suggestions - Even if those suggestions seem obvious, worst case you will get a good understanding either why the client isn’t doing it that way, and you might just stumble on something that dramatically improves their business.
7. Celebrate Your Mistakes - Call yourself out when you make mistakes, don’t hide them.  It will help build trust and rapport with your clients, as they don’t expect perfection, just honesty.  My younger brother Brian taught me this by example long ago, as he laughs at himself with ease.
8. Take a Bullet for the Client - If there is any doubt who is at fault, just go ahead and step up and take it on.  Don’t shy away from blame.  I learned this from my best friend Paul Straw who, while we worked together at a movie theater, would step up and take the blame for mistakes that occurred near his station, even though he wasn’t the one that made the mistake.  It made him the most popular employee at the movie theater.
9. Make Everything About the Client – No need for you to take credit when things you did went right, just focus on continuing to get things done for your client.
10. Honor the Client’s Work - Take an active interest in your client’s business, and why its an important business to them and their customers.  This means truly caring, not giving lip service.  This is something I try to do most of the time when talking with people, I try to spend most of my time asking questions, as I seek to get to know them.  You can see the difference in approach quite readily, just watch your interactions with your friends and family, and see which ones are more interested with what’s going on with you, or telling you what’s going on with them.
11. Do the Dirty Work – This is a really important one.  Many times you’re going to be asked to do something that you feel is beneath you, something that a junior member of the client should do.  If you just bite the bullet, and put together a simple spreadsheet, or create a presentation for the client, they’ll see that dedication, and feel that you’re truly on their side.
12. Admit Your Weaknesses and Limitations - This is a higher order than admitting mistakes. In admitting weaknesses you do an honest assessment of yourself and your company’s weaknesses before accepting work that you’re not qualified for.  Sure you can probably get it done, but the client would probably be better served by having a specialist in that field do it.

Getting Naked at Amazon

More great books by Patrick Lencioni at Amazon