Hoof-in-the-mouth Hal
By John Putzier
Q: I have a business partner named Hal, who is a very competent, talented technical professional. He and I co-founded our computer consulting company together which provides contract IT services for small to mid-sized businesses that cannot afford to, nor justify, having their own IT Departments.
We thought this would be a good partnership because, although I am also technically trained, I tend to be better on the sales and marketing side.
We are in our 3rd year of business, and I have been quite successful in lining up prospects and leads and "almost" closing deals. The problem is that Hal feels a need and also a right, to accompany me on these sales calls, since he is a co-founder and partner. Unfortunately he is a one-stop-shop of political incorrectness and tactlessness.
Hal not only says the absolute wrong things at the wrong times to the wrong people, he doesn't even know when to shut up. Just when I have them warmed up and ready to buy, Hal manages to stick his hoof in his mouth, and cannot seem to extricate it before the deal sours. I have them ready to ask, "Where do we sign?" until Hal gets them to say, "Don't call us, we'll call you!"
Whenever I try to debrief a sales meeting with Hal, in an effort to get him to see the err of his ways, he just discounts everyone else who may be offended by his off color, sexist, or politically incorrect remarks as being uptight, too sensitive or some other more disparaging label. It's never his problem!
But it is both our problem because we are losing potential business, not to mention the impact it could eventually have on our reputation. It has reached a breaking point but I am at a loss as to how to intervene and correct this situation, particularly since Hal is an "equal" business partner. Any suggestions?
Sincerely,
Cautious Katie
A: There are actually several possible avenues available and/or necessary to deal with Hal. Before we explore them, however, lets go back to the Behavioral Change Map I referenced in another recent letter, and see where it takes us:
The beauty of this flowchart (which appears in my newest book, "Weirdos in the Workplace! The New Normal), is that it forces us to recognize that every single behavioral issue or challenge can be rooted to one of two causes. It is either a "skill" issue or a "motivation" issue. Put even more simply, they either "can't" do what you want them to do, or they "don't want to" do what you want them to do.
Although the flowchart tends to direct us to the conclusion that Hal's motivation is the issue, let's not be hasty. There is the possibility that he may lack some skills, so this case poses a caveat.
If Hal has never been diplomatic or politically correct, how do we know he can be? So, the first line of attack may be to convince him to take some type of interpersonal relations training (Dale Carnegie, et. al.) and see if it takes. That's one approach. But, knowing Hal, he may not be receptive to self-improvement, because, in his mind, it's everyone else who needs to change.
So, if that does not work, you, Katie, may have to have a woman to man reality talk with Hal, to see if there might be a better place to use his skills to help grow the company, such as a more technical arena.
If you don't think Hal would be receptive to hearing this from you, for whatever reason (ego, chauvinism, denial) an even better approach might be to solicit input from a board of directors or advisors, a small business advisory service, SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) or some other non-biased, third party business growth consultant or organization.
Regardless of who it is, they will tell him that one of the first rules of a successful business partnership is for the partners to have non-redundant skill sets. This is particularly necessary when you are lean staffed, because you do not have the luxury of allowing two people to do the same thing at the same time (i.e., double team sales calls), unless each brings enough of a unique value to the table. That is not the case here. Hal adds nothing to the situation. Just don't tell him that.
Finally, if Hal does not respond to interpersonal effectiveness training (i.e., it is not a skill issue), and you and the consultants cannot "motivate" him to bow out of the sales side of the business, perhaps a trial period of you each going on separate sales calls (use productivity as an ego-saving ploy) for a period of time to see who has the best success might convince Hal of the virtues of change.
After all, as a co-founder, Hal has to be motivated by business growth, so if he can see that his own wallet will be fatter if he applies himself where he is most valuable, the proof may be in the pudding!
Diplomatically yours,
John Putzier
Wizard of Weirdness (WOW)
