Managing Sticky Situations at Work

Sticky Situations with Clients 77ANALYSISAnthony came into the conversation with a clear idea of what hewanted. He did not jump into resolving the issue. Instead, he set hislimits and then encouraged Pete to think about what he said from abusiness standpoint. Pete came up with the resolution on his own.Specify the Problem. After Anthony invited Pete to talk, he clearlysaid what troubled him, namely, the finder’s fee and Pete’s desire tohave a cut in the profits. He couched these concerns in terms ofmutual respect. Because Pete is an Expressive, he responded quicklyto the respect issue.Invite the Other Person to Talk. Anthony invited Pete to talkright away, but not about the specific problem. Instead, he warmedhim up by getting clarification on the meeting agenda. He almost lostPete when Pete offered to telephone his contacts immediately.Anthony was quick to bring him back by stating the problem. Later,Anthony invited Pete to talk more by asking him to respond to thelimits he set.Join Feelings with Fact. Anthony said it just right when he spokeabout ‘‘respect’’ regarding his relationship with Pete’s father. Hementioned this mutual respect early in the conversation and then atthe end of the conversation. In both instances he was letting Peteknow that their businesses were deeply rooted in longtime trustingrelationships built by his dad.Resolve the Issue. Anthony allowed Pete to come up with the decisionneither to be a partner nor to have an exclusive vendor relationship.He put the matter before Pete in an honest and open way. Peterealized that sharing profits when he was taking no risks was not fairto Anthony and something Anthony would not accept. He quicklyacquiesced to Anthony’s terms. By showing a willingness to pay thefee, Anthony proved to Pete that he trusted him.CONCLUSIONWe’ve looked at three kinds of sticky situations with clients. In thefirst situation where the client did not pay for the services rendered,Brooks had to firmly specify consequences. In the second situationwhere the client chewed out a valued staff member, we saw that Dr.Nash had two options: One, to set clear limits and continue to work