>
> Tamra wrote:
> >Right at the end of the meeting, when we were both shell-shocked, the VP
> >(who is the decision maker but who we'd never met or heard from before this
> >meeting) put Bruce on the spot and got a verbal confirmation that we'd get
> >them the phase II proposal ASAP and would meet again in two weeks. If he'd
> >asked me I'd have mubled something non-committal, but Bruce's first
> >instinct is to say yes when he's asked to do something.
If he is the final decision maker...
> Usually people show you their true colors, tell you what they're really
> about, early in the game. Apparently these people are jerks. I doubt that
> you'd somehow be able to manage a relationship with them in such a way that
Some think insults motivate people. (Steve Jobs did.) Some want to
get people to disagree and argue as a way of pulling new ideas out on the
table. (One of my father's bosses said that whenever all the engineers
agree, he gets scared they are overlooking things.) And some are just
plain jerks!
> Furthermore, these people NEED to be told that they're jerks. It's in their
> best interest to know that their style is ineffectual. But of course you
> must do that politely.
One manager/consultant I worked with said the three laws of
consulting are:
1. Make your manager look good
2. If you can't make him look good,
keep him from shooting himself in the foot.
3. If you can't keep him from shooting himself in the foot,
then shoot him first.
I suppose number 3 is there to allow you to save your assignment;
though it can be beneficial to the client company if done properly. I've
had the opportunity a few times, but seem to be able to pull off number 2
each time. I like to stick to number 1, it is so much more fun!
But at some point, I would likely have stood up, said some minor
piece in my defense, something like 'Somehow, I don't think my other
clients would likely agree with you... But I suppose it is a matter of
taste. You know, if you look at your access logs, you can tell pretty much
what your visitors want. And speaking of clients, I think I should devote
a bit more time to those who are a but more appreciative of my work, and
who pay more attention to their access logs. Good day, gentlemen.' And
leave.
Always leave before you are thrown out. If you leave, they might
invite you back by others who take over when the SOB is "invited out". If
you are thrown out, they won't.
As another consultant told this greenhorn many, many years ago:
"There is always another job out there, one with more pay and better
working conditions." You just have to find it. That said, thus far I've
only walked when the agency failed to meet rate promises, or for personal
safety reasons. (Rates you can gripe about. Personal safety -- walk
first, then explain why you won't go back! You might even save someone
else's life that way. You've already saved yours!)
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