The Win Without Pitching Manifesto

by Blair Enns

In Aesop’s fable “The Frog and the Scorpion,” the latter approaches the former at the riverbank and asks for a ride across on the frog’s back. But the frog is not so stupid as to readily agree to this favor, for surely once out in the river the scorpion will sting and kill him, as scorpions do. The scorpion protests that it would be silly for him to kill his carrier, as it would ensure his own death from drowning. The frog sees the scorpion’s logic and agrees to the engagement. Once in the middle of the river the scorpion does indeed sting the frog, who, with his last breath, asks the scorpion why he has just killed them both. The scorpion replies that he cannot help himself. He is a scorpion and it is in his nature to sting. The lesson here is not that clients are stinging scorpions that cannot be trusted. The lesson is that the most successful clients, whether owners or executives, have achieved their success in part because of their ability to take control – their ability to rise above and orchestrate others. This is their strength; and even though it is not always in their best interest, it is in their nature. We are liable. Like the frog, we are the guilty party when we let the client control the engagement and dictate to us how we will go about understanding his problem. Just because it is in the client’s nature to lead, does not mean he should be allowed to do so at all times. It only means that, like the scorpion, he will attempt to do what it is in his nature to do.