Working for a US company that wanted to create more transparency in their target market, my role was to launch and create the international market, starting in the UK.

(Please note: this case is somewhat anonymised to protect identities)

The company’s products and services openly and publicly challenged the status-quo and self-proclaimed status of large international companies. Whilst this was for the public good and overall, led to a healthier market, it created very public, very strong resistance and challenges from the market. My role was to navigate this, deal with the conflict and personalities to drive a market with a product that retailed in the 6-to-7-figure price range.

There were several situations where tension rose and tempers frayed. Many behind closed doors, some in national media. I had to work through these challenges, remain calm, collected and professional in order to navigate the emotions, convey the truth and create a healthy business relationship.

When our clients were doing well, there was a sense of jubilation and euphoria. I would warn that due to our independence there might be times that weren’t going to be so good, and we must remember the good to navigate the bad.

In one such incident, tensions rose to previously unseen levels, with a senior executive of a client compromising themselves internally. I had to act empathetically, but with integrity and honesty to help them, my relationship with them and the strategic business relationship we’d formed over the years.

Lessons were learnt about the results we had presented, insights were derived and action was taken to ensure this ‘crunch’ resulted in tangible business and performance improvement.

Ultimately, the relationship with that particular individual grew stronger through the mutual respect and professionalism.

Recently, when starting our recent business, they asked to join our board.