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Consultants Discover Sagacious Serendipity While Leading Client to Success

by Leonard Marchese, President, RETHINK, INC. Michael Ronan contributed to this article.

Even experienced consultants can learn some valuable lessons with the help of their clients:

Be Flexible

Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York is where people come to renew mind, body, and spirit. Since its inception in 1869, founders Albert and Alfred Smiley, twin Quaker teachers and ministers, envisioned the mountain as a respite from the work-a-day pressures of the city. A majestic castle-like structure, six stories high and an eighth of a mile long, the Mountain House sits on the edge of a glacier-formed lake high in the Shawangunk Mountains. According to legend, the word "Mohonk" is a Delaware Indian term meaning "lake in the sky." Sky Top Tower sits atop Mohonk Mountain, transcending all other vantage points as it proudly overlooks the Mountain House and six states. Sky Top Tower is the pinnacle.

In this magnificent setting, two consultants envisioned bringing their client's marketing team to "the pinnacle," symbolizing how the group met the challenge to excel the rate of their success. But what began as a journey to help their client evolved unexpectedly into a dramatic lesson for the consultants - Len and Mike.

The duo took the time to understand their client's needs and expectations, and prepared a detailed script for the session. However, they were soon challenged to turn aside from their script and let what they now know as sagacious serendipity guide them.

Innovate

Len and Mike started the session with a fun activity to help their client unwind in Mohonk's serenity and boost team spirit. For this overcast evening, they planned a lakeside campfire after dinner. They thought this would spark storytelling and camaraderie. Sort of a return to primal selves. Or, okay, maybe Cub Scout days.

Participants arrived that evening clutching their cellular phone, chattering about the day's issues, and worrying about unanswered e-mail. During dinner torrential rains and a heavy fog dashed the duo's plans. Forget well-laid fires.

Len and Mike rallied an impromptu retreat to the intimacy of one of the Mountain House's tower rooms. A majestic fireplace, comfortable chairs, and soothing nightcaps beckoned the group to relax. Anticipated storytelling evolved into personal anecdotes and reflection, ghost stories, and a deeper appreciation of one another. The sense of fellowship exceeded anything Len and Mike could have planned. The magic of Mohonk was at work. Thoughts of cellular phones, workday issues, and laptops were replaced with a call to uncover the ghosts of Room 592. As the group set out on their ghost hunting mission, Len and Mike knew a greater plan had replaced theirs.

Before turning in, the duo discussed how the evening's events signaled "go with the flow." They decided to reduce structure and increase opportunities for discovery. Imagine that. The proposition for the client - relax and go with the flow - became guidepost for the consultants.

See Past the Obvious

The next morning, the casually dressed group convened and discussed goals, communication practices, and how to overcome barriers to success. That afternoon, they took a tour of the historic Mohonk greenhouse. As the greenhouse manager led the tour, it became clear that there was more going on than met the eye. A one-hundred-year tradition was in progress - next year's renowned Mohonk show gardens were germinating. The greenhouse staff, like the client, were working to secure future success.

The group reconvened in the Conference House and used the greenhouse visit as a metaphor to explore what they could do as a team to create distinction and achieve success. As a dynamic plan unfolded, the group took the first step toward making their marketing goals and objectives real.

Be Ready to Learn

During that evening's dinner, the group was much more relaxed with smiles surrounding the table. After dinner the greenhouse metaphor continued in a small room set up as a potting shack to, per the agenda, "Bring Results to Life."

The plants used for the activity had significance. They were propagated from a turn of the century Mohonk heirloom Heliotrope. Each marketing team member was assigned a planting station, with responsibilities for potting, fertilizing, or watering, and so on. At each stage, the "station manager" shared the significance of their responsibility in the planting process.

The experience of a fun and nurturing activity cultivated the seeds of a new beginning for the client. It became clear that bringing results to life not only requires responsibility and teamwork, but also a sense of humor and caring. Spirited conversation and laughter filled the room. Amidst the jubilation Len and Mike realized the planned debrief was unnecessary, and moved quickly to memorialize the moment. Only one more light needed to come on - the flash from a camera capturing the group's smiling faces in a group photo with plants in hand.

Act on What You Learn

The theme for the last day of the session was "The Future is Now." Posing as members of a board of directors, the marketing team acted on its plan. Members answered questions, made decisions, and agreed to fulfill commitments. To reinforce excelling the rate of success, calls were placed to the office and some tasks were completed on the spot. The plan was implemented before the client left Mohonk.

For the finale, the group climbed to Sky Top Tower for a glimpse and feel of the pinnacle of their success. At the top, marketing team members celebrated their progress and received a certificate congratulating them for securing their company's success. As their client departed, Len and Mike knew that the session had changed them, too.

Len and Mike stayed at Mohonk an extra day to conduct a postmortem of the session and take advantage of the chance to renew their bodies, minds, and spirits. After a bountiful breakfast, they walked the dormant Mohonk golf course. The duo reviewed their lesson in having the wisdom to understand what you have stumbled upon, and agreed to apply sagacious serendipity in their work.

Celebrate

In the midst of their solitude, near the ninth hole, Len spotted a half-buried golf ball. Mike picked up the ball and in one motion turned it in his hand to read the markings: "Pinnacle 2 Gold™."

Some people might have ignored this "coincidence." But their recent experience had taught them to take note of the little things, to pause long enough to wonder: Does this mean something?

Len and Mike celebrated this as an affirmation that they reached the height of their Mohonk experience. Joy transcended their amazement as Len and Mike sat on a bench overlooking the golf course. Was this also part of the storied magic of Mohonk? It was a sunny day, a Mohonk day, a Good Friday. They rejoiced.