High Potential Inc Success Stories

Less than 6 months ago High Potential Inc was asked to assist in the transition of a Partner from a Chicago Law firm. Although having spent the better part of his career in Law Firms and achieving a partner position Terry was not a Lawyer. His career had grown from a base in technology to holding increasingly senior financial responsibilities.

"When he first got to us every thing Terry did was backwards looking," said HPi President Bob Wilson. "He couldn't disengage from his old firm, and this stopped his campaign dead in it's tracks." One of the first things HPi did was refocus Terry on the present by looking deeply into what talents and skills he would bring to the market. Adrian Duesler, Terry's Senior Consultant recalls their first meeting: "Terry was very awkward, not very eloquent and didn't present himself well.” In addition, he was also still worried about a job that didn't exist for him anymore. One of the first things we worked on were to help Terry identify his accomplishments and how they would translate into a new position. By going through his successes we also discovered his passions and more importantly the type of position which would best fit his abilities.

Adrian helped him to create all the marketing materials, resume, bio and fact sheets, however the biggest challenge lay ahead. "I had to coach Terry through every aspect of networking and interviewing. He was not comfortable talking about himself or projecting his accomplishments.” We ran mock interviews and worked extensively in refining his network. “At one point Terry called me from an interview in New York, noting that the interview went extremely well and he needed advice on negotiating his comp and benefits package. We conducted a ‘on the fly’ session between his interviews.”

The outcome: Terry landed a position as a Controller for a Law firm here in Chicago. He admits it is a far better fit for him professionally and he is now on a promotion track to succeed the soon to retire Executive Director of the firm. As an aside, Adrian also helped Terry to negotiate a signing bonus to help level a slight salary imbalance as he joined the new firm. Terry is now part of HPi's alumni network, helping others during their transition process.