Getting Naked by Patrick Lencioni

These are the notes I took while reading Getting Naked: A Business Fable About Shedding The Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty by Patrick Lencioni. This book was recommended to me by Lauren Bacon based on her time at KA+A.

Additional notes I’ve taken while reading other books can be found here.

Naked service boils down to being vulnerable - embracing uncommon levels of humility, selflessness, and transparency for the good of a client.

It sounds obvious but is more difficult than it seems. Humility, selflessness and transparency often entail suffering, and suffering is not something that most human beings understand or welcome. Most of us spend our lives trying to avoid awkward or painful situations.

(1) Fear of Losing the Business

Be a consultant, not a salesperson - give away the business. By demonstrating generosity and trust, you drastically increase the likelihood of making them a client, not to mention proving you can help them.

It’s also in your best interest to show you’re focused on helping them, not your short term revenue.

Be confident to do something that is potentially client threatening. Don’t shy away from the uncomfortable situations. In improv, it is natural for novices to avoid playing off a bizarre comment or behavior because they won’t know how to build on it.

Fear of losing the business causes us to avoid doing the things that engender greater loyalty and trust with the people we are trying to serve.

It's worth reminding that our clients can smell fear and are repelled by it. They are attracted to a service provider who will be honest and direct with them, even if it might jeopardize the relationship. If I remember correctly, the same principle applies to dating: girls prefer honest and self-assured guys over desperate ones who will tell them what they want to hear.

(2) Fear of Being Embarrassed

When in doubt, speak up. As painful as it is in that moment, it is disarmingly effective in terms of adding value and endearing yourself to clients.

Never pretend to know more than you do. Ask dumb questions - I always admire them and feel like a wuss for not asking myself.

People almost always remember the really great question and tend to forget about the others.

Clients admire naked service providers because they know that they will not hold back their ideas, hide their mistakes, or edit themselves in order to save face.

Make Dumb Suggestions

Most of your ideas won’t be horrible. Even the ones that aren’t so good won’t hurt you as long as you’re humble enough to acknowledge you’re not an expert.

“What if most of your ideas are bad?” At that point, you’re not naked or vulnerable. You’re just not competent.

Clients don’t mind sifting through not so good suggestions as long as they are offered with good intentions and no ego attached.

(3) Fear of Feeling Inferior

There is something so powerful about a person who in one moment can be confident enough to confront a client about a sensitive personal issue, and then in the next moment humble themselves and take a position of servitude. It’s the paradoxical nature of it all that makes it work.

Make the full attention about the client. Do not try to shift attention to yourself, your experience or your knowledge.