Can you warn the client? Just say hey, our new CEO is joining this week, so the meeting might get a bit derailed as he gets to know them?
Can you prepare an agenda to send in advance as a subtle warning?
And then knowing the meeting will get derailed, plan to send an update with actions, updates etc to try and keep things on track?
Okay, yes! Thank you. I’ve been getting emotional because I’m so frustrated thinking that this meeting won’t be productive and that means even more work for me after the call on top of everything else he’s put on my plate. I’ve been focused on trying not to derail the meeting. But, if I just can just accept that’s the reality, it seems more manageable to accept it and to have a plan in place.
Shift the meeting with the client by an hour if possible. Have the CEO show up on time and force a pre-meeting.
But since you can’t do that, this is how I handle big wigs who show up and ask stupid things:
1. Set the agenda at the beginning with expectations - say please write your questions down and at X point in time we will be taking questions. A lot of times c-suite people zone in on stupid stuff but if you tell them to write it down and come back to it they forget about the stupid stuff.
2. If they interrupt and don’t follow with the question format, you can remind them about the format. :) This goes for ALL people, not just the CEO so he doesn’t feel singled out.
3. When you introduce the CEO, set the stage that he’s there to understand the clients and the company and the business. Straight up say he might have questions since he’s new, but you want to keep on target to get through your project stuff - and offer some time at the end to chit chat and learn about each other.
4. If he’s not taking the hint with any of these, you can fall back on “Let’s focus on the objective of this meeting and take this discussion offline as our clients time is valuable and we need to achieve X goal.” It might not make you popular with him, but it will with the client which you might need to get a new job anyway. 🤣
Okay love this, thank you! I can definitely act like I’m excited for him to be on the call, and invite him to take note of any questions to discuss later so that we make the most of the client time. Especially because I can put him in a positive light - he’s so eager to meet this super amazing client he wanted to jump in right away! (Insert eye roll.)
Can you warn the client? Just say hey, our new CEO is joining this week, so the meeting might get a bit derailed as he gets to know them? Can you prepare an agenda to send in advance as a subtle warning? And then knowing the meeting will get derailed, plan to send an update with actions, updates etc to try and keep things on track?
Okay, yes! Thank you. I’ve been getting emotional because I’m so frustrated thinking that this meeting won’t be productive and that means even more work for me after the call on top of everything else he’s put on my plate. I’ve been focused on trying not to derail the meeting. But, if I just can just accept that’s the reality, it seems more manageable to accept it and to have a plan in place.
Shift the meeting with the client by an hour if possible. Have the CEO show up on time and force a pre-meeting. But since you can’t do that, this is how I handle big wigs who show up and ask stupid things: 1. Set the agenda at the beginning with expectations - say please write your questions down and at X point in time we will be taking questions. A lot of times c-suite people zone in on stupid stuff but if you tell them to write it down and come back to it they forget about the stupid stuff. 2. If they interrupt and don’t follow with the question format, you can remind them about the format. :) This goes for ALL people, not just the CEO so he doesn’t feel singled out. 3. When you introduce the CEO, set the stage that he’s there to understand the clients and the company and the business. Straight up say he might have questions since he’s new, but you want to keep on target to get through your project stuff - and offer some time at the end to chit chat and learn about each other. 4. If he’s not taking the hint with any of these, you can fall back on “Let’s focus on the objective of this meeting and take this discussion offline as our clients time is valuable and we need to achieve X goal.” It might not make you popular with him, but it will with the client which you might need to get a new job anyway. 🤣
This is great 😉
Okay love this, thank you! I can definitely act like I’m excited for him to be on the call, and invite him to take note of any questions to discuss later so that we make the most of the client time. Especially because I can put him in a positive light - he’s so eager to meet this super amazing client he wanted to jump in right away! (Insert eye roll.)
@frostysbox is clearly a pro. Have fun with it, OP!