The meeting will be 30 minutes divided into three 10-minute acts

Act 1-Context: Introduce yourself and your organization. This is background information that creates the setting in which you act.

Act 2-Challenge: This is the moment when you share the specific thing that you’re wrestling with and your desired state. See the preparation section below.

Act3-Consult: This is my part. I’ll confirm my understanding of your problem and give you a reaction—what I’ve seen work in similar situations or organizations, what I’d do in this situation, what additional things you should consider.

For the first act, I’ll want the basics on your business and yourself. If you’re part of large multi-national, focus on your business unit. If you’re a smaller company that I may not have heard of give me the basics on the company. Here’s what I’d like to know: industry, revenue, key business priorities, and strategic challenges.

When introducing yourself share: your job role, time in job, who do you report to, who works for you, organization budget, business stakeholders.

The second act should focus on the specific challenge that you’re facing as well as your concerns. A great way to illustrate this is to talk about the gap—describe the challenge and your desired state. This could be something you’ve not yet started on or something that you’re working on but have concerns. The more specific you can describe the thing you’re concerned about the more meaningful our discussion can be.

If you haven’t prepared, this won’t work. We’ll need more time. I can share my rates.

Don’t be defensive. I’m not going to criticize. I’m going to listen, explore, and suggest.

Don’t expect me to solve your problems in 30 minutes. What I can do is provide you with a perspective that is free of the influence of your boss, your corporate culture, and the limitations that you may artificially created.