Maraia's Rainmaking Blog

Do You Speak Fluent CEO?

In previous newsletters I’ve stressed the importance of speaking the language of the client.  I sometimes ask my clients:  “Do you speak fluent CEO?”  Most professionals are intimidated or in awe of senior level executives.  That’s not a good thing.  Another version of the earlier question is this: How would you score yourself on a 10 point scale (10 being highest) at talking cutting edge business issues with CEO’s and other high level executives?  The answers I get from clients range anywhere from “3” to “7”.  That's a failing grade!  On rare occasions someone might rate themselves an 8 or 9.  What’s worse is this:  People almost always score themselves higher than they really are!!  Let me be blunt:  If you don't move yourself to the 8, 9 or 10 range you will become marginalized and irrelevant by more and more clients.  I think most people agree they need to get much better at speaking the language of their clients.  They just aren't doing much about it!

If you don’t happen to be busy right now I’ve got a suggestion on how you might invest some of your time.  Start meeting regularly with the C Suite executives in your network. Tell them you want to get better at speaking fluent CEO, CFO, or whatever their job title happens to be.  This is where having a robust and active network can really pay dividends.  All else being equal, the consultant, lawyer or accountant who interacts regularly with 30 CEO's is likely to build a stronger practice than the professional who only interacts regularly with 3 CEO's.  And when I say interacts regularly I don't mean socially.  If you don't talk about business issues of great importance to these people, those interactions won't be as valuable.

If you really want to get serious about this, set a weekly metric of meeting with at least one senior level executive.  The cumulative impact of doing this every week for fifty two weeks is huge.  You want to learn about their biggest worries.  As you do this more often, you'll gain confidence you can do it and you won't be as intimidated by this segment of the business world.