8Flea Circus
“Morning,” Brian smiled as he exited his car. “You beat me here again, huh?”
Sam said, “I learned if you're on time, you're already late for something.”
“Jeez! Already stealing my lines.”
The two men walked into Stamina and took their positions in Sam's office. Sam pulled out his golden notebook.
“I gotta tell you, the team enjoyed Monday's talk, and meeting you too. I've continued examining the ‘white spaces,' and instead of hiding from me, people actually said hello.”
“Don't get too excited, kid,” Brian grinned. “Even though they've made a small change, I've found some big changes that must happen to right this ship. When I asked for their honesty, they gave it!”
“Ugh. So what are your discoveries about Stamina?”
“This,” Brian began, “is a consultant's toughest job – knowing the fine line between a ‘want' and a ‘need.'”
“What's that?” asked Sam.
“Well … in the past, some businesses brought me in to keep up with the Joneses. They never wanted to make real changes. Because I understood, I spent more time telling them what they wanted to hear than what they needed to hear. Hearing what you want is less painful than hearing what you need.”
“I understand,” said Sam. “I'm looking for needs. We have millions of people's money riding on Stamina, so know I can take it. Don't sugarcoat it … just be gentle.”
“Okay,” replied Brian. “Glad to hear because the only way you'll change the culture is by understanding where it is right now. Don't take it personally, but know some ...
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