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Tales from those on the front lines of dealing with clients. Tales of difficult clients, complex situations, relationship management - and how massive client management problems were solved, and what they learned. Largely those running agencies, but all across different professional services.
Episodes
2 days ago
2 days ago
Today's guest is Derrick Van Mell, Principal of The Center for Management Terms & Practices, who recalls a client horror story from his days as a general management consultant.
Derrick had set his sights on a massive, century-old manufacturing company and was thrilled when they accepted his proposal. Early in the engagement, he asked how they measured growth—only to discover they focused solely on their production schedule, ignoring their financial statements entirely.
When Derrick raised this concern in a meeting, one executive exploded, declaring, “I’ve never gotten so angry in my life!” before storming out. Soon after, Derrick met with the company president and other leaders. Following a CEO friend’s advice, he simply asked, “What do you want me to do?” While the conversation cooled tensions, it wasn’t enough to save his role.
This story is full of sharp turns, unexpected reactions, and lessons on the power—and limits—of listening. Keep listening to hear how Derrick navigated the situation and what it taught him about truly hearing clients.
Thursday Sep 25, 2025
Thursday Sep 25, 2025
Multicultural turnaround executive Ori Elraviv opens up about the pivotal misstep that led to his company’s downfall years ago. Before the iPhone era, Ori founded a game development company that secured a major partnership with Electronic Arts—an achievement that opened doors for a potential deal with Sony Pictures.
The pitch to Sony started strong, but things quickly unraveled when they discovered the company had developed a similar program for Electronic Arts. Sony questioned whether Ori’s team held the rights to reuse the technology—and when EA caught wind of the situation, the fallout was swift and severe.
The root of the problem? They hadn’t read the fine print. A costly oversight that ultimately led to the collapse of the business. Tune in to hear Ori’s full story and the lessons he took from the experience.
Thursday Sep 18, 2025
Thursday Sep 18, 2025
Michael Patino, Founder and CEO of Patino Associates, shares a cautionary tale from a partnership with a large global manufacturing organization. At the time, Michael had successfully placed a senior executive within the company—only to be stunned when, just a month later, the executive was suddenly terminated.
Wanting to understand what went wrong, Michael reached out and discovered that the executive had lied about holding a collegiate degree. The issue came to light after the individual repeatedly delayed submitting required documentation. When Michael reviewed the situation internally, he found that although the degree verification process had flagged the discrepancy, it had been overlooked by his assistant during the final review.
The experience was both frustrating and eye-opening. It pushed Michael to reevaluate internal workflows and reinforce checks and balances—lessons that now guide how his team handles candidate reviews and verifications.
Thursday Sep 11, 2025
Thursday Sep 11, 2025
Today’s guest is Devin Sizemore, owner of ACES Connection Group, who shares a wild client horror story about teaming up with a group of individuals to launch a motorcycle business. Things took off quickly—in just 14 days, they had a promising investor on board and a successful launch event that drew in custom orders and buzz.
But beneath the surface, betrayal was brewing. One partner secretly cozied up to the investor, taking credit for work he didn’t do, while also plotting with another co-founder to cut out the rest of the team. With his business instincts kicking in, Devin chose to walk away before things got worse.
It’s a jaw-dropping story of ambition, deception, and the hard lessons of trust in business. Buckle up—this episode doesn’t hold back.
Wednesday Sep 03, 2025
Wednesday Sep 03, 2025
Bill Gruber, Medical Device Executive and Author, shares a client horror story that starts off puzzling—but ends with a powerful lesson in emotional intelligence and professionalism.
The story dates back 20 years, when Bill was head of sales and marketing for a spinal products company. His team was preparing to launch a new device and had secured a respected surgeon to perform the first-ever procedure on a human patient. Everything seemed on track—until they entered the operating room. The once upbeat, easygoing doctor suddenly turned volatile—screaming at nurses, cursing at the team, and even causing the patient to slide on the table. Then, just as abruptly, he returned to his cheerful self after the procedure.
It wasn’t until later that Bill learned the doctor was in the middle of a brutal divorce—and the anesthesiologist in the room was his soon-to-be ex-brother-in-law.
This eye-opening episode is a masterclass in understanding how personal issues can spill into professional settings. Don’t miss it—you’ll never look at “doctor demeanor” the same way again.