Success Labs’ CEO Devin Lemoine on WRKF’s ‘Out to Lunch’
I was recently honored to be a guest on WRKF-FM’s “Out to Lunch” with Stephanie Riegel, editor of the Baton Rouge Business Report. Robert Munson, a strategic communications specialist with Sanderson Strategies Group, was also a guest. He has worked for years as a political consultant and now has expanded his crisis management and media relations expertise into the sports arena.With Munson in crisis management and me in executive coaching, organizational and leadership development, Riegel spoke to us about the role that consultants can play in offering expertise to various businesses and what the Baton Rouge market in particular is like for consultants. Here are some highlights from our chat.
The Nuance of Consulting
Riegel began by asking us about our unique consulting services and what we bring to the table when consulting can be so hard to define. Munson and I both agreed that consulting requires a nuanced approach. While he’s focused on the unique opportunities and challenges that come with protecting professional athletes, teams and political candidates from risk, Success Labs is more focused on producing business results through people strategy.Businesses are realizing that their relationships with employees are changing, especially as millennials take leadership roles. They aren’t tethered to companies in long-term relationships as baby boomers were. Each organization will have different challenges relating to succession planning, leadership development, workforce planning and team building. The nuance comes in realizing each organization’s unique needs and developing a strategy that fits that.Often clients will call me and think they need one thing, when in reality the problem is different or deeper than they realize. We try to help with the root cause of individual, team and organizational issues, and that may require a different solution than what a client initially thought they needed.
The Importance of Trust
Riegel asked us both how a consultant knows how to do this job. Munson and I both agreed it comes down to experience. When you’re going through your first crisis, it can be overwhelming, he said, but by the time you’re on the 5,000th one it’s easier and you know more what you’re doing. Clients have to trust that you have the experience to help them through their situation.In my experience as a consultant, I bring experience and a base of knowledge about best practices and can help implement them in meaningful ways. As an outsider from the organization, I can bring a unique perspective and can combine that with good critical thinking to help develop strategies. Clients trust that I’ll give good advice and lead them in the right direction.But more than just inspiring confidence, they trust that I really want to help. I had a call the other day from someone who wanted a business plan very quickly. I told him another strategy that would work, even if it meant that he wouldn’t be hiring me that day, and now he wants to work with me because I showed him I’m invested in him succeeding, not just making a deal for myself. Munson agreed, and says he routinely turns down business if he’s not the right fit because it’s more important he offer a real solution than simply take on more work.
Helping Baton Rouge Grow
Riegel asked us what would make it easier to be a consultant in Baton Rouge and what would help grow the local economy. Munson and I both agreed that Baton Rouge has an inferiority complex. He said that when he speaks to people about building new companies and doing big things in Baton Rouge, the response he often hears from locals is “Here?” as if Baton Rouge isn’t good enough.I’ve heard much the same in my business dealings locally, and I think we need to continue to focus on all the good happening in Baton Rouge. We have strong petrochemical and health care sectors here, a great sports culture, many startups and entrepreneurs, and a thriving arts community. We just need to find a way to connect the dots and tell Baton Rouge’s story in a more authentic way so we can emerge as a great business environment where people want to live and work. I want Success Labs to be a big part of that.You can listen to the full “Out to Lunch” episode here.Success Labs is a leadership-development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.
