Company taken over. New offer a step backwards. Matching in the final round.
The phone rang. I saw Mr. Necker's number on the display and knew immediately it had to be important. Mr. Necker had been the CEO of a medium-sized company. An engineer by training, he had worked his way up through a few stations to become managing director and was well known in the mechanical engineering industry. But as it often goes, the company had been swallowed up by a corporation because of its innovative technology. He had been offered the takeover, but that would have been a step backwards for him.
 
With his blue eyes, short-cropped hair, and slender frame, he seemed more reserved than brash. This was underscored by his cool, matter-of-fact manner, which changed rapidly when he talked enthusiastically about one of his new "tech babies."
  
We had worked hard on his CV and positioning and then launched our applications in the market. The response to his profile was good. He had already had many interviews. It would only be a matter of time before the opportunity he had been waiting for came along.
  
I tapped the display and took the call, "Hello Mr. Necker, what's new?" He sounded a little excited. "Well, guess what, I'm in the final round at M-Tech AG. The headhunter just called me. Monday is the meeting with the entire board of directors. I really need your support there now."
  
I sighed a little inwardly, because it was Friday afternoon and I knew this was going to be a work weekend. "Okay, Mr. Necker, what else did the headhunter give you to take away?" It was important to learn as much as possible about the environment and procedure. "Yes," said Mr. Necker, "he talked about the fact that there were only two candidates left and that it was very important to convince the gentlemen of the supervisory board with a strategy for the next years. I will have a maximum of 15 minutes for my presentation. Since the company is in a change management process at the moment, it could also be that a consultant from the consulting firm will take part. But that is not certain."
  
I thought for a moment about how best to proceed. Then I asked him, "Could we meet tomorrow?" He immediately replied, "Yes, of course". I looked at my calendar for a moment, "Good, then we will start at 10:00 am tomorrow in my office". "Can I prepare something," he asked. "Yes", I replied, "find out as much as you can about the consulting firm, and have the headhunter tell you again about the members of the supervisory board, as far as he knows them. Also ask if he knows who is presenting first." Mr. Necker sounded relieved. "All right, I will. See you tomorrow." He hung up, and the first thing I did was take a look at our interview database. How had the process gone at this company so far? Which people had Mr. Necker spoken with? Where had the "sticking points" been? What did we need to pay particular attention to? I made my notes, researched the members of the supervisory board as far as I could, read the last annual report and the latest press releases.
  
We met Saturday morning in my office. Everyone had done their "homework." We immediately got to work and talked about the situation of the company. I told him my findings from the people research and the key numbers and statements from the annual report and press releases. He supplemented this with his research, so that by lunchtime we had a first joint picture of the company, from which the idea of where the journey could go matured. We treated ourselves to a lunch break at a nearby restaurant. I could see exactly how nervous he was. "What do you think, do I have a chance?" he looked at me questioningly. "Why not," I replied, "You have a good profile, the right age, enough experience. You'll be able to do it. You've come this far, it's a matter of mobilizing all your strength once again."
  
"Your word in God's ear," he eyed me carefully. "You know, in situations like this, I'm sometimes a little uncertain. I don't know why. I can't control it at all then".
 
I reassured him. "We'll build your talk this afternoon, and we'll practice it tomorrow until it sinks in. And then I'll tell you a few little rhetorical tricks, and it'll work out." He nodded in agreement, we finished our espresso and went back to the office.
 
We worked on his presentation all afternoon, coming up with a compelling strategy approach for the company. He was about to start practicing, but I slowed him down, "No, we'll do that tomorrow." "But why, now I'm so good at the content". "Just because of that", I said. "Now it's about what needs to happen in order for you to properly pick up and convince your audience, namely the supervisory board".
  
I then used the slides to show him the dramaturgy I had built into the presentation and how it was going to impact the board. He looked at me big time. He had never looked at a presentation like this from this angle before. Then we talked about who he should focus on at which slide, which person he should choose as an anchor, and how best to respond to interjections without losing the thread. We had already practiced many of these behaviors over the course of the interviews, but it was especially important now to remind him and reinforce them so that he was confident in the process.
 
It had become late afternoon. We finished and I said as we said goodbye, "Relax tonight. Let what we worked on today continue to work in your subconscious. You will see, it will go all the better tomorrow". He looked at me a little incredulously, but then said, "Good, then I will do it that way".
 
We met the next morning. He seemed relaxed on the outside, but I could sense his excitement on the inside. We did the first run-through. It was too long, and there were two hangs. That's perfectly normal. It's only when you give a performance that such unevenness becomes apparent. It was quickly remedied. The next round was much smoother. And so it went on. We improved articulation, worked on gestures and facial expressions. It was important to me that Mr. Necker used his potential optimally and appeared convincing. Finally, we optimized the timing so that the presentation ended in the allotted time without any intermediate questions, which we had also practiced. "Then I wish you good luck tomorrow," I said to him as we parted at about 5:00 pm. "And remember, stay relaxed tonight. You are well prepared." He thanked me and we left the office.
 
Monday afternoon he called, "My impression is that it went well. I got on first. The feedback from the headhunter was good. But the gentlemen won't decide until the end of the week. That's another wait". I reassured him. "It would be nice if it worked out, but there are still a few other irons in the fire."
  
The week passed, even the next week was half over when he contacted me, "I guess it won't work out." He sounded dejected. "Let's wait and see. Be patient," I said, "don't do anything and let's talk on the phone early next week."
  
The following Monday it was he who called me, "It worked out. I got the job." I was happy for him, but he was unstoppable at all: "You know, the management consultant was there, and we hit the exact same strategy approach that he did. Isn't that great?".
 
"Well," I said, "good research and drawing the right conclusions from it is often half the battle." He murmured in agreement and then said, "I realize this is quite a challenge for me. I would like to have you by my side on that one".
 
"Thank you," I replied, "you can count on that."