Skunks and Armadillos

I spent a lot of the days of my youth riding from Gonzales to New Orleans (pronounced N’orlens) on what was then called Airline Highway. In those days there was not much there except swamp on both sides and of course the Stuckey’s store where they sold that narly pecan bar, guaranteed to help accelerate any subtle tooth decay that you may have.

The two things there seem to be no shortage of were armadillos and skunks. Having witnessed a lot of carnage over the years, given the choice, I would rather deal with the aftermath of the armadillo than the skunk any day. Something about skunk residue that just gets trapped in your nostrils causing everything you smell, eat, or drink for most of the day to be reminiscent of skunk.

I thought of this story the other day when meeting with a client, talking about potential problems in the future if they stayed on their current course. And his response was, “let’s bring the skunk up on the porch now.” I needed no interpretation for that idiom. He opened the door to deal with the unpleasantries upfront.

Those of us who would prefer to think about only the potential good and ignore the potential pitfalls, this is a great lesson (a teachable moment). Consider the potential positive outcome of bringing the skunk up on the porch:

1. You are positioning yourself as a true advisor versus just another sales person. Being able to see the possible outcomes, good and bad, causes others to perceive you as one who has forethought, insight, and credibility.
2. You will be able to manage expectations upfront versus over promising and under delivering.
3. It creates a platform for collaboration and problem solving between you and the other party. If there is no skunk on the porch to deal with, it leaves you in the role as the primary presenter, creating more of a monologue than a meaningful dialog.

At the risk of keeping skunk residue in your nose for the day, I challenge you to call the skunk to the porch at your next meeting.