Friend becomes boss Erhard Westermann, 43, has been a successful sales engineer for 12 years in a renowned international mechanical engineering group. On April 1, 1991, his colleague and friend Guido Kreuzer is promoted to sales manager and thus to his boss. Both celebrate this event privately with their wives. Together they look to a hopeful future. It was their last celebration together! The more Guido Kreuzer takes up and fills his position, the more Erhard Westermann is irritated. "In what tone does he suddenly speak to me? His new job seems to be going to his head. Now he's coming at me the same way old Hartmann used to. Back then we always shook our heads together about the old man's 'ambitious goals'. Now Guido himself comes up with completely unrealistic goals. And the worst thing is, he didn't take me into his confidence beforehand." This is how Erhard Westermann laments his disappointment with his wife. Kreuzers sounds different. "I don't know at all what's the matter with Erhard. He's been reserved with me lately and sometimes even aggressive. I wonder if he envies my promotion. Sometimes I get the impression that Erhard wants to have an extra sausage roasted. He also stands out in our sales team with his constant nagging. He simply doesn't pull his weight anymore. It can't go on like this. Guido asks Erhard for a clarifying discussion to restore the old trust.

Separation The conversation develops an unwanted momentum and in the end the tablecloth between the two is torn by strong words. The separation is sealed. After the wounds of the battle of words have been treated, they meet again in a more civilized way. Guido offers Erhard to look for a job out of the existing employment relationship, which should not be a problem considering his years of sales success, his good education and his age. Erhard agrees after they have agreed on a decent severance package.

Self-marketing As a successful salesman, Erhard naturally has good contacts. Surprisingly for him, he is not immediately welcomed with open arms, but is also confronted with critical questions. Above all, his interlocutors want to know why he wants to leave after 12 successful years as a sales engineer in one of the world's leading companies in this industry, and in most cases to less renowned competitors. Erhard, as a well-trained salesman, decides not to wash dirty linen under any circumstances. He doesn't want to reveal his ex-friendship and his falling out with his boss, because then no one would hire him. So he makes up his own "success story": "I would like to use my proven successes to advance professionally and become a sales manager. My salary expectations are 180 TDM". Seemingly a coherent idea. Unfortunately, Erhard does not have the necessary distance to himself and also no friend or colleague with whom he can discuss his approach.

Guido'slack of motivation to change is obviously out of the question. Erhard is an excellent sales engineer, but it is no coincidence that he remained so for 12 years. He does not radiate leadership potential. So his interviews remain unsuccessful, especially as he appears increasingly nervous in the job interviews, especially when the conversation heads towards the inevitable question "Why do you want to switch from "BETA AG" to us?" In this way, the winning type becomes Erhard, a problem case who burns through 30 good contacts and ends up knowing his way around doctors' surgeries better than offices. In "BETA AG "he is released from work, which does not make his story any more credible and reinforces his visible psychosomatic manifestations.

Individualised coaching At this point Guido Kreuzer receives one of our mailings and calls me. Two days later the three of us meet in my Hamburg office. The consultation begins the same week. The warming up and the stocktaking (status quo) results in the facts you have just read. It would be ineffective to put Erhard Westermann through a standard program. The problem is his wrong application strategy and the consequences that have arisen in the meantime. In the consultation, therefore, I concentrate on leading Erhard Westermann to his own realization that, with a well-considered presentation of the true facts, he is laying the groundwork to reapply as a sales engineer. He can thus return to the area of his personal and professional strengths. This prospect alone causes an initiative spark to a significant upward trend. Of course, his scepticism about the true nature of his departure from "BETA AG" cannot be overcome in a single conversation. In the end, however, it makes sense to him that interviewing personnel consultants and managers do not assume an ideal world without conflicts. All that matters in the interview is a positive, self-evident presentation, and he has to show that he has come to terms with the conflict in the meantime, especially his part in it. We work on this topic intensively in the coaching. In coordination with the treating internist, the psychosomatic symptoms also weaken. After the coaching sessions and the subsequent job application training, the main thing is to overcome the other major obstacle, namely finding fertile ground in addition to the scorched earth (over 30 companies) in the industry. With the databases at our disposal, we are able to identify a number of companies and suitable personnel consultants and provide them with individualized applications.

New job After a total consultancy period of just under 5 months, Erhard Westermann signs a contract of employment with an Asian group that is experiencing good growth in Europe; as a sales engineer with roughly the same income as at "BETA AG".