Ep 04 - CJ Dube'
"No Magic Wand": CJ Dube' on What to Do When Clients Fall Apart Between Sessions
Key takeaways
CJ Dube' tells us the mid-quarter call isn't a sign something went wrong. It's coming no matter what, and the mistake is answering it with listening alone. Sympathy without a tool is just another layer of duct tape.
Her triage is simple: every mid-quarter problem is either people or execution. People problems start with Delegate and Elevate. Execution problems start with the Issues List.
She points out that 95% of what drains a leader sits in "good at but don't like to do." That column is almost always where the seat problem lives.
CJ Dube' also reminds us it starts with your own practice: if your roster and schedule undermine your health, you can't bring Healthy to anyone else.
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The Idea
Two inches of duct tape.
Every session ends with some version of the same energy: a room full of people who finally know where they're going. But CJ has been doing this long enough to know what comes next.
"They don't really know what that means. It's our job as implementers to keep showing what the journey looks like."
Six, eight, twelve weeks later, they call. Things aren't working. The conflict that went quiet in the session is back, louder. The change that seemed obvious in the room hasn't happened.
The mistake most implementers make at that moment: they listen. Not that listening is wrong — but listening without giving someone something to act on just adds another layer.
"All we're doing is putting duct tape on things. Pretty soon your duct tape is two inches thick. Pretty hard to cut."
The move CJ makes instead: convert back to the tools. "We pretty much have a tool for everything," she says.
She gave an example. A construction business doubling in size in a year. The visionary in four seats: Visionary, Integrator, key salesperson, and one more. He calls mid-quarter. Everything is on fire.
"One of the key tools I go to in situations of seats and people and stress is the Delegate and Elevate tool."
She worked through what was on his plate, where each task actually belonged, and where the gaps were.
"Ninety-five percent of our world sits in 'good but don't like to do.' Mr. Visionary, get rid of all of this. You're not serving anyone."
The conversation that followed was practical: what gets delegated, what gets hired for, what goes on the 12-month plan. He came in overwhelmed. He left with a plan.
The Steal
Triage before you listen.
Before you can bring Healthy to your clients, your own practice needs to be healthy. That means a roster and schedule that don't put you where CJ ended up - flying everywhere and burning through sleep.
Look at next quarter: does your workload support your own health, or quietly undermine it?
In case you thought that was the hard part, rest assured that mid-quarter calls are coming. When one does, the problem almost always falls into one of two categories: people or execution.
People problems - someone overwhelmed, a conflict, a leader sitting in too many seats; start with Delegate and Elevate. List everything on their plate. The "good at but don't like to do" column is almost always where the seat problem lives.
Execution problems - metrics off, commitments not being kept; start with the issues list. Identify the issue, assign the owner, set the due date.
It's the difference between a call that ends with a plan and one that ends with a feeling.
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