When I announced a couple of weeks ago that we would be doing a piece of work with a major international natural beauty product retailer, it sparked some curiousity in our office. We have a pretty diverse set of clients, but beauty and health retail was a new industry for us. My client contact was lovely enough to bring along a sample of their products are our first meeting, which I happily distributed around the office.

From my very first communication with the client, I was impressed by the openness, the enthusiasm, and passion of the people I met.

I did the work with the client last week, and beyond being an interesting “success” story in which I was deeply touched by a client, it is the sort of differentiating stuff that is very important to me as a practitioner and for us as a firm.

We do “customized” management and leadership development … but almost everybody does that these days, or at least says so. For me, the question is how to really respond and connect with a client in such a way that trust is built and ultimately we can help them from within their culture and their experience as opposed to standing outside and preaching or directing.

The work involved a keynote talk on leadership for over 200 store managers from all across the US and Canada at an annual conference. I focused on “sustainable leadership”, a topic I’ve been thinking about quite a bit lately, but also a topic that seemed to correspond well with their own position on ethics.

I was invited to attend their corporate party the evening before my talk. My contact told me that the party would be an 80′s theme and that everyone would be in costume. I only knew one person from the organization – my contact – but I dressed in my best preppie look … think Caddyshack (photo below) .. and went downstairs to find women dressed as versions of Madonna, Joan Jett, etc., and men dressed Miami Vice or as headbangers. I soon became known variously as “Chet” or “Tad”.

I ultimately met up with my contact, but even before that, a number of managers made the effort to find out who I was, include me in conversations, and make me welcome. It was the best corporate party I’ve ever attended. Pure, good-spirited fun. By the end of the night, my contact/chaperone was looking around for me only to find me up on stage with some other manager dancing the night away.

My time with everyone that night helped me see and experience the folks as they are as a culture, and getting a chance to talk to a bunch of managers about the company deepened my understanding of the company. But the more serious point is how much I personally believe in being with and for our clients … not just doing “work”. How I can help an organization change its culture when I don’t appreciate and understand that culture?

They are a wonderful, caring, passionate company that believes in their product, knows how to have fun, and wants to learn. I was authentically inspired … and motivated by them … it was far easier to get up in front of them the next day and do my best to inspire, challenge, and motivate them in turn.