A great place to start is with the full title of this book!

“Getting Naked: A Business Fable about shedding the three fears that sabotage client loyalty”

Like the title, this isn’t your typical business book.  Mr. Lencioni challenges all of us in the service industries to put our pride aside and replace it with the best interest of our customers.  And, he does it in the form of a novel, an interesting touch for a business book.

The Story…

…is about the acquisition of a boutique consulting firm by a big corporate firm.  Jack, is the man set up to manage integrating Lighthouse Partners into the prestigious, international, full-service management consulting firm of Kendrick and Black. Along the way he learns some of the secrets of Michael Casey, founder of Lighthouse Partners.  What Jack later terms “Getting Naked” with the client is the technique of putting aside corporate and personal pride to be more effective and build tremendous client loyalty.  I won’t spoil the end of the story for you, but will hit on the key business points – the “Three Fears”.

Fear of Losing the Business

The premise to this fear is that when we are afraid of losing the business, that becomes our focus and drives our actions.  Actions driven by keeping the account are often contrary to actions focused on helping the client.  An example is when we are tempted to tell customers what they want to hear rather than our true thoughts based on the experience and education for which they hired us.  Although this might help keep the account for the short term, when it doesn’t work out we become part of the problem and lose credibility.

Fear of Being Embarrassed

This fear is what causes us to walk away from meetings wondering.  Instead of speaking up and asking what might sound like a dumb question, or suggesting something that might be laughed at, we decide not to speak up.  Patrick’s take is that naked service providers are so busy putting the success of their client first, they are willing to speak up with ideas and questions even at the risk of being embarrassed.  Otherwise, you wonder what it was you didn’t understand or what would happen if they tried your idea.

Fear of Feeling Inferior

At one point in the book a group of executives are asked which of these fears are they most susceptible.  For me it was this one.  As a business management instructor and service provider at Sigma College of Small Business, it seems logical that if you aren’t continually demonstrating superiority, clients will start thinking you aren’t important and adding value.  However, the case is made that by purposely putting ourselves in a lower position than our clients (which equates to putting them on a higher level), the naked service provider will gain trust, respect and loyalty with their clients.

“Shedding the Three Fears”

Mr. Lencioni completes the book with a set of principles for overcoming the three fears.  Instead of working through those here, I highly recommend that you pick up and read the book.  It’s a very enjoyable read with a great message for anyone who provides services.  Caution: When reading in public, expect some strange looks and people avoiding you as they look at the title:-)