Jim Lukaszewski is chairman and president of the Lukaszewski Group Inc. [1], an advisory firm that coaches and counsels executives in the largest corporations and organizations. An expert in crisis communications, Jim helps resolve corporate problems that involve conflict, controversy, and community action or activist opposition. An author of numerous books, his latest, Why Should the Boss Listen to You?, was published by Jossey-Bass in February 2008. He has helped many spokespersons prepare for crucial public appearances on shows such as 20/20 and 60 Minutes.

During his session, Jim will help teach security professionals how to become a trusted strategic advisor to their companies or organizations’ executives. One of his simplest recommendations may also, ironically enough, be the most difficult: read what the executive reads.

Jim is a member of ASIS International’s Crisis Management Business Continuity Council. He was the council’s second youngest member ever. Jim also serves on the Workplace Violence Prevention and Intervention Standards task force and the Business Continuity Management Standard task force.

So what are you concentrating on at Seminar?

My session is about developing a strategic mindset. How you get access to the folks who run the place; how you get to the table sooner; what you have to know; what do you have to do; and how you have to behave to become this trusted, more strategic, more frequently called upon asset to management. The concept is about being more strategic, but the ultimate goal, though, is getting to the table sooner and, in some cases, getting to the table at all.

Say I’m a middle management type and I haven’t really distinguished myself in any way, how do I get the boss’ attention?

It’s going to be pretty hard, but you can do it. A couple of things to begin with. The first one is you have to change your way of thinking. Most managers going up the management ladder wait a while to develop a management perspective. For those of us in staff functions—security being one of them, like communications, HR, law, and strategic planning—we have a different perspective on the business. Our job is to help those who run it, run it better. And so we tend to have a staff mindset. One of the first things you have to do is to put yourself in the manager’s shoes. I mean truly put yourself in the manager’s shoes and understand who these people are, how they think, what they worry about, what they care about, and what they need to accomplish.

It’s amazing how many times I’ll ask a group, “How many of you read the Harvard Business Review?” If I’m lucky, a couple of hands go up. But this publication happens to be one of the world’s premier business journals, which many business people read. And if you really want to better understand what they’re thinking about, what they worry about, and have a discussion with them—you need to read this publication.

This whole business about being a strategist and being an advisor has to do with working with leaders at various levels, not always the senior leader, but leaders in the company. “How many of you have studied leadership?” I’ll ask. “How many understand the pattern of leader behavior?” “How many of you read the biographies of famous leaders of the past?” Very few hands go up. So my question is, “How can you be a value to someone if all you’re able to talk about is the thing you’re a specialist in?” You need to know more about them and their perspective.

I’ll also be talking about very specific things that they need to recognize about management. For example, the management environment has changed dramatically over the last 10 to 15 years. For one thing, senior leaders are in their positions for far shorter lengths of time. When I talk about new leaders, I actually do a calculation that tells them exactly how long 41 months is in terms of weeks, days, hours, and minutes. So they think along the lines of a countdown instead of what we do on a day-to-day basis. It’s a different mindset.  Now the agenda we talk about is in the context of the continuously shortening length of time they’ll have to get the job done.

Then I talk about the seven disciples of the trusted strategic advisor.

Run some of them down for me.

The first discipline is verbal skill. Management is done in real time. One of the problems most internal and external consultants have is that we fail to give advice on the spot. We need to have good verbal skills because the higher you go the less you can rely on written reports or data.

Another discipline is pragmatism. The fact is that managers tend to be overoptimistic about what they achieve every day and what they can achieve overall. The most optimistic people are the folks at the top believe it or not. So part of the role of the strategist is to be a pragmatist. Talk about what’s doable and achievable. Have a sense of realism about what it is you recommend, and what you believe to be accomplished.

One of the most important disciplines is understanding the patterns of events and circumstances. I call this being a window to the future. Advisors who understand the scenario of events can apply that knowledge to solving problems or offering options for solutions because they can literally see the future.

I will also talk about specific methods for giving advice successfully.

How hard is it for the strategic advisor to go into an executive’s office and tell them what they don’t want to hear?

My experience is that executives are struggling to find people who can tell them what they need to hear. Everybody has an opinion on how leaders make mistakes and screw up, but that’s yesterday. If there’s one thing that sets the strategist and senior executive apart from everybody else, it is the relentless focus on tomorrow.

The issue for leaders is what they do next. The question is, “Jim, if I could take a constructive step forward today, what would that first step be?” The advisor who can answer that question is a person of real value.

The issue for the audience is how do you get in the door? How do you build the credibility as an individual to get invited in the first place? How do I get the call earlier? How can I get them to stop calling me last? How can I have more influence on the front-end of the decision making process? The answer is to be ready to say things that matter whenever you are asked or called upon.

Well doesn’t that rely more on building a track record? When is someone going to come to you if you haven’t established yourself?

Yes, it does.  Why would anyone come to someone who seems sincere but is untested?  I’m 67. People look at me and think, “Do I need to look like this guy to get in there and be taken seriously?” What I’ve learned is that while chronology can matter, it’s what comes out of your mouth every time that matters more.  Access has to do with knowledge, insight, and the ability to inspire. Strive to contribute on the spot in very strategic and important ways. You will get noticed.

What’s interesting about what you’ve said is that if you want to be a strategic advisor, you have to be well read?

Yes, you do actually have to pay attention to what bosses care about and soak up information. On my Web site www.e911.com [1]I have a reading list. I subscribe to more than 30 monthly and some weekly periodicals. I’m an avid consumer of books and television. I stay informed. Because, interestingly enough, the people at the top actually are quite informed and if you want to have conversations with top people, you really do need to read what they read and keep aware of the things they are interested in.

Jim, for all those budding strategic advisors, what’s the first step you’d take?

The very first step I talked about was verbal skills. Really get a sense of how you communicate on a face-to-face basis. Any firm of any size has communications and HR people that can do an assessment. Go to Toastmasters. They do assessments as well. Just get a sense of how your verbal skills work. You want to practice and learn on your manager, on the person that you report to. One of the questions I often get is, “How do I get an idea to the boss if I have someone between me and the boss?” There are really two ways. The suicide way is to go around your boss and try it, but that’s not a good idea. The best way is to work through your boss. Use the techniques I talk about. Your boss will get better faster, and he or she will send you to help others.

The second step is to start studying leaders and leadership. What makes a leader a leader? What makes someone want to run things? Pick your favorite leader from the past. In business, I recommend reading about Jack Welch. Start putting yourself in this mental place where executives are, and you’ll begin to get the sense of how you have to change yourself to be successful. Then you’ll have a happier, more influential, and more successful professional life.

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