What I Evade:

Early in my career, I learned an essential lesson: I am not a fit for everyone. Unlike others, I do not subscribe to a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to coaching or consulting. I shy away from systems designed to benefit “everybody,” as those who adhere to such frameworks often remind me of a saying from Lotfi Zadeh:

“When all you have is a hammer, everything tends to look like a nail.”

I frequently encounter individuals who have been overly “hammered” into conformity.

Throughout my career, I have had the privilege of working alongside exceptionally intelligent individuals—those in the 90th percentile and above in their fields. My approach assumes that generic prescriptions are ineffective for highly educated, literate clients, many of whom have mastered the art of self-delusion. This includes PhDs, MDs, and those with multiple master’s degrees, as well as the self-taught garage scientists. I’ve coined a term for this phenomenon: “HIFI,” which stands for Highly Intelligent Functional Idiots. These clients often find packaged solutions to be insulting. People who have thrived by recognizing life’s complexities are unlikely to be satisfied with generalist prescriptions.

I respect my clients’ intelligence by not offering commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions to their unique challenges. Their individual needs should take center stage.

This brings me to Discovery—a critical phase I refer to as the “discovery process.” This phase often requires over 30 hours of on-site engagement. Highly educated and successful individuals typically view themselves positively. Effective coaching and consulting challenge this self-image, ideally prompting clients to question it themselves. While their self-perception may largely be accurate, the devil is in the details. Quality coaching begins with identifying and exploring these details, often revealed through targeted questions. Many clients have remarked that the investment in this discovery phase was the best money spent.

What I Strive For:

In a consultant-client relationship, trust is fundamental; either it exists, or I risk becoming an adversary. For most HIFI clients, each new relationship is a challenge to their ability to navigate a new dynamic. It’s crucial that this engagement does not devolve into a zero-sum game.

As a result of our collaboration, a new dynamic emerges—everyone must set aside adversarial instincts. Clients need to trust me enough to follow my guidance and be willing to embark on a shared journey as students of their mentor. This journey must serve the client’s best interests, with me as a guide rather than a guru.

Most of my clients likely have experience playing Monopoly and winning often, perhaps because they appreciate the value of a “Get Out of Jail Free” card. In essence, highly educated and successful individuals—those with the HIFI syndrome—tend to excel at rationalizing their shortcomings. They attribute failures to external events or individuals. The saying, “I have never met anyone capable of telling it straight, including me,” encapsulates this tendency. Through clever rationalization, they escape accountability, with their judgments often stemming from emotion and later supported by logic. As a consultant, it is crucial to enforce personal accountability on my terms—without this, the focus will shift, and the engagement will falter.

I’ve observed a growing stigma in social media and television towards those in positions of power in business. Those who are better off often exhibit greater pain aversion than those closer to subsistence levels. When my clients enter a coaching or consulting relationship, they typically retain the option to end the engagement with the phrase, “You’re fired!” However, the focus should not be on whether I am dismissed, but rather on the client’s emotional and professional growth.

Effective consulting redefines the rules of engagement so that the “nuclear option” becomes a mechanism to terminate a partnership that isn’t yielding results. At the outset, it’s vital for the consultant to establish clear rules and expectations, demonstrating a commitment to enforcing the boundaries outlined in our engagement agreement. If these boundaries are repeatedly crossed—whether intentionally or not—there may come a point when it’s clear that walking away is the best option.