Not every lesson is a positive one.
Talking about careers with my niece, I mentioned the scariest boss I ever had, and how even that experience with a boss who said and did some pretty scary things led to valuable lessons. Fortunately or unfortunately, the lessons were all about how to never act when I got to be the boss!
The conversation got me thinking about other situations where scary comments turned into valuable business lessons
Since I've been thinking quite a bit lately about gearing up for strategic planning, I jotted down these five scary quotes about strategic planning. Intriguingly, all five came from consultants at one consulting firm we worked with for several years during my corporate life.
Admittedly, I learned many positive lessons during that time about strategic planning. Yet these five scary quotes about strategic planning from our consultants profoundly shaped my thinking about how NOT to do strategic planning:
1. "We'll put together the strategic planning process as we go."
Whenever you put together a strategic planning process while you're doing it, you know something is wrong. Earlier in my career it felt edgy, but as a more experienced business person, it just seems pathetic. If you're a consultant and selling your expertise at strategic planning you need to walk in the door ready to go with something that's pretty close to working.
2. "There are 14 tasks to complete between these two steps in the process."
Fourteen tasks to get from one step to another in the strategic planning process??? Talk about overkill!!! And even if it isn't overkill and you actually NEED 14 tasks to move from one step to the next, NEVER admit to anyone you're involving them in that much minutiae.
3. "This is better done than right."
Really? REALLY? Yes, a consultant told me it was more important to get a presentation completed than address whether it was right. I've since stolen and revamped the quote not once, but twice. Even really bad ideas can be the seeds of strategic brilliance.
4. "My family's important to me, so I make sure I'm home every night."
On the surface this quote is not only NOT scary, it seems to be a wonderful sentiment considering the outrageously long hours consultants often work. The problem was the consultant saying it in Kansas City (where our company was headquartered) LIVED in Chicago. Yes, he flew back and forth every day between Chicago (first morning flight out) and Kansas City (last evening flight out). It was supposedly cheaper than a hotel room. Right.
5. "I did an interview with a reporter today about business prospects in (your) industry."
Bad idea. VERY bad idea. When one consultant did this (and was quoted in print questioning our earnings projections for the year), his firm was fired the next day within 90 minutes of our CFO seeing the article in a national industry newspaper. As a result, they lost a 7-figure annual consulting engagement. Yup, VERY BAD idea.
If enough of you have scary quotes from consultants to share, maybe we’ll have enough for a regular feature. – Mike Brown
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