Poor prep leads to bad meeting with the execs
Many people are nervous about meeting with the CEO or other top-level executives, but preparation will make you more confident and improve your chances of being viewed favorably, says Greg Bustin, a leadership and strategic planning consultant in Dallas.
Not preparing well, however, can lead to disaster. Bustin recalls one meeting in which a mid-level executive was presenting to a board of directors and stated one fact that someone attending the meeting realized was wrong. When the mistake came up, the group discussed the discrepancy, and the presenter admitted he was wrong. He moved on with his presentation. Then he stated another number that was wrong, and again someone pointed out his error. Then it happened a third time.
Barely half an hour into the scheduled one hour meeting, the CEO ended the meeting because the man’s credibility was shot. The experience tainted his career with the company.
"If you haven’t done your homework, if you haven’t double- and triple-checked your data, you are risking your own reputation. This is a high-stakes encounter," Bustin says. "One wrong fact is not deadly, but it does put a chink in the armor. It calls into question your reliability. More errors will sink you."
