AGM Newsletter
AGM - now a necessity
by Stephen Mansbridge
Two years ago AGM's services formed an excellent
addition to a business leader’s transition. In today’s
climate AGM is essential for any senior executive
contemplating a move or undergoing enforced
change.
Only AGM can provide the necessary
combination of top class preparation,
premium access and excellent guidance
into and during the start of a new role.
Preparation has never mattered so much
as it does today. As sponsors become
more risk averse and the competition
for top roles intensifies, it is essential to
have flawless presentation and very well
thought through delivery.
Very few of us have lived through such a ‘perfect storm’ of a
crisis. In times like this, access to third parties or directly to targets
becomes increasingly difficult. AGM has a well established
reputation for knowing all the key headhunters, many
Principals in Private Equity and Venture firms, and a significant
corporate network at Board level. Powerful access saves time,
avoids nugatory effort and retains a much higher degree of
confidentiality.
Having the right person to act as a sounding board during a
transitional period is vital. Mistakes can be easily made; clients
become far more sure-footed if they can bounce their ideas
off the mind of an experienced consultant used to high level
moves. Likewise, the period of offer and negotiation is always
tense and can often go wrong in a highly sensitive economic
climate. Being able to seek sound and experienced advice
is of huge importance so that the right choices are made.
Leadership Impact Coaching provides critical guidance for the first few months, a dangerous period where all eyes focus on
the new person in a role.
All in all, business leaders have never needed a company as
unique as AGM so much before, which is why demand for our
services has increased so signifficantly.
In seconds. Gerald Ratner and his unfortunate speech
describing his products as crap is only the most famous of
numerous examples. Many others, in the word popularised
by Hillary Clinton, have in their time “misspoken” to disastrous
effect.
Reputation management is certainly needed to prevent
misspeaking. It is invaluable too to rehearse how to deal with
any possible crisis, particularly how to handle the media in
such a situation, just in case. There is a great deal of scope too
for gaining positive publicity. It is a question of picking the
right moment to catch the news agenda, of recognising which
of your qualities and achievements are most newsworthy and
of maximising their impact to the media. Professional help
with this can make all the difference.
Personal brand and reputation are as important for individuals
as for organisations. You need to have a clear personal
narrative, which will appeal to future employers as well as
to the media. First Take works closely with AGM to provide
reputation management to clients. Drawing on our unique
international experience with the media, we can prepare you
for interviews with TV, radio, newspapers, new media and your
future employers.
It is surprising how often highly talented and successful
people can sell anything except themselves. In almost every
interview, even the most friendly, the interviewee tends to
have a different agenda from the interviewer. The secret is
not simply to answer questions politely, but to make sure that
your agenda comes across. If you are sure of your ground,
can make your case in a form which the audience can easily
understand and, most important of all, sound passionately
committed to your cause, then you will be a highly effective
communicator. The chance to rehearse in a safe, confidential
and secure surroundings with experienced coaches is one not
to be missed.
Journalist enquiries