The more experienced you get as a strategist, the more, well, strategic your projects tend to be and therefore the more senior your clients and other stakeholders get.
I’ve worked with all sorts of big noises, from ex-FTSE 100 CEOs to venture capitalists, silicon valley tech bros and Global Heads of Everything and it doesn’t seem to matter how old-school or cutting edge the business, the C-suite just operates differently.
I recently worked on a project with a global business school that specialises in executive education and they chose to teach and coach the C-suite of big organisations totally differently. Because the strategic focus, day to day priorities and workstyle of Big Noises is so different to even the Vice Presidents of Whatever working immediately below them.
When it comes to working directly with these mega-senior clients (let’s just call them Big), or simply engaging with them as project stakeholders, I’ve realised that usual ways of working are off the table:
Got a remote stakeholder interview?
Firstly, Big will probably need to shift the time/day several times, they have much bigger priorities than you. Then, when you do get hold of them, expect them to be in an airport lounge, taxi, coffee shop or anywhere else with no privacy and a lot of background noise. Good luck with transcribing that! On the upside, they have such a broad and strategic view of their brand/business/category that something really interesting usually comes up. Don’t be afraid to go off-piste away from your discussion guide to dig into it.
Having a meeting?
However long the meeting was supposed to be, Big will need to be somewhere else long before it ends. So start by checking if they have a hard stop and get to the point as quickly and cleanly as you can. In the past, I’ve even prepared a five slide version to present to Big, followed by a longer, more detailed deck for everyone else in the meeting to discuss once Big has moved on to the next thing in their diary.
Need to get a document approved?
Keep it short. Really short. Big has neither the time nor inclination to wade through 40 slides or 4 sides of A4. Stick all the research etc. in the appendix and make the approval ‘ask’ and next steps really clear. Exec summaries and bullet points might feel old-fashioned, but they get the point across quickly. Don’t waffle in the covering email either.
Want to make them like you?
Don’t expect them to do admin. Very few Bigs have proper dedicated PAs these days and the last thing they have time to do is send you a meeting invitation or dig out the relevant document or email. Always do the meeting admin yourself and always attach the document or email you’re referencing. And if they DO have a PA, be really nice to them as they’re always the gatekeeper to time with Big.
To be clear, I’m not complaining about any of this, we’re talking about smart, successful, really busy people with a lot on their plate, who are giving me their valuable time. But to get the most out of engaging with them, you do have to go about things a little differently.
Image credit: Person Stock photos by Vecteezy