Read the quote and respond:

“In consulting, entering the danger comes into play in those moments when you’re in a meeting and someone says something that is either strange or politically insensitive, and you know that the level of anxiety and discomfort in the room is high. What you’re tempted to do is just be quiet and let the moment pass, but what grat consultants do, at least according to Lighthouse, is walk right into the middle of the situation and call it out.”…It’s terrifying and uncomfortable.”

Getting Naked, pg 160-161

Questions:

• When was the last time you entered the danger? Why don’t think it was dangerous for you? What happened after you did?
• Pat describes this strategy as “terrifying and uncomfortable.” Describe the last time you felt this way in a session with a client.
• You’ll notice a familiar character in this book named Mikey who was the antagonist in Five Dysfunctions. What are your thoughts on Amy’s moves and Mikey’s redemption!
• Jack puts his career on the line in multiple scenes. What are the greatest risk you’ve taken for the sake of clients or others?

“‘As you can probably imagine, this is a difficult situation for me. I mean, the fate of my career here at K&B pretty much lies in your hands, and I’m about to tell you why I think your firm, our firm, needs to change what we do.’ It was astounding how much more comfortable I felt just being honest. So I kept going”

Getting Naked, pg 147

“And clients absolutely love it…. They say things like, ‘I’m so glad you made us talk about that,’ and ‘I’ve been wanting to do what you did today for three years, but I felt like it would have been a career-limiting move.”

Getting Naked, pg 160–161

“Her name was Mikey… There was something skeptical – or more accurately, cynical – about her… At first it was bearable. But after sitting next to her at a dinner, it became annoying. And by the second day I wanted to strangle her, though I have to admit that I was a little frightened of someone who could be that cynical and self-confident…”

Getting Naked, pg 93–94

“By now I had come to realize that the team’s way of dealing with her was just to let her rant and then resume their conversation. As uncomfortable as that was, I couldn’t think of a better solution. ‘[Amy says in a meeting] I’m sorry, but I think it’s time we dealt with something, because I don’t think we are going to make this strategy work if we don’t’… ‘Mikey, I’m sure you mean well’… ‘But when you approach every issue with such…’ she searched for the right word, ‘negativity, it’s a real buzzkill for the team’… ‘I mean, are you noticing how the rest of the room goes quiet when you do that? And what about the rest of you? Am I the only one?’”

Getting Naked, pg 93–94

“Finally, Mikey stood up. ‘Okay. Here’s the thing.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I know I’m a pain in the ass. I left the last start-up I worked for because I had a hard time with the executives there’… ‘But that’s not going to happen again. So I’d appreciate it if you guys could tell me straight up when I’m pissing you off, because I can take it.’ She paused. ‘What I can’t take is you telling each other, or him,’ she pointed at the CEO, ‘and me finding out later.’”

Getting Naked, pg 93–94

“‘What are you doing Jack? Is this really appropriate? Calling a client?’…

I bluffed confidently, pretending to be dumbfounded by his questions. ‘Appropriate? Why not? It’s fine. You’ll see.’… I hesitated and then decided there was no way to suggest this. ‘Well, I’m trying to explain to a group of very interested people here what it is that Lighthouse does and how it differs from Kendrick and Black.’… ‘I thought you would be able to articulate for us why you made that decision.’… I’m asking you to be completely honest, Gene. In fact, I’m begging you. Now that we’ve acquired Lighthouse, we need to understand what they do so well.’”

Getting Naked, pg 133–134