Working together
What you can hold me to.
It is not my values that decide whether a working relationship holds up, but what follows from them. That is why this page contains statements that can cost something – me.
Why this page exists
Every consultancy website promises straight talk, partnership and execution. That is cheap, because it binds no one. It tells you nothing about what happens when things get uncomfortable – and that is exactly when it becomes clear whether a working relationship is any good.
That is why this page does not describe how I work as an attitude, but as commitments. Six of them, each with a consequence for me. Plus the four values behind them – and what I need from you in return.
How a mandate runs in substance is described by the Slotta method: situation, straight talk, execution, result. This page describes what you can rely on along the way.
A commitment that cannot cost me anything is not a commitment.
Six commitments
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I decline if I am not the right person
In the first conversation, not after the third meeting. If your issue is not my field, or the situation does not need an outsider, I will tell you – and if I know someone who is a better fit, I will give you the name.
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You get me, not a team
The person who makes the proposal leads the mandate. There is no hand-over to someone more junior after the contract is signed, because there is no one to hand over to. If I need support, I will say so in advance and you decide.
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Execution is part of the mandate
A concept that nobody implements is money spent without return. That is why my work does not end with a recommendation but with the first result – and execution is not a follow-on offer, but part of what we agree.
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No second mandate with a direct competitor.
As long as I work for you, I will not accept a mandate from an organisation that competes directly with you. We put this in the agreement, so that it does not depend on my good conduct.
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What did not work goes into the report
No final report in which everything succeeded. What did not hold up, which assumption was wrong and what I would do differently are all in it – otherwise your organisation learns nothing from the mandate that it will need next time.
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An agreed end date – and a follow-up review on request
Every mandate has an end point that is fixed at the start. I do not extend by stealth – an extension is a new decision, and it is yours. Whether the work has held up becomes clear six months later: at your request I will come back for half a day, as an implementation check at a fixed price, and we will look together at what is still working and what has slipped back.
The four values behind them
What drives me is simple: getting things that do not work to work. Four principles follow from this – each with a consequence, not just a name.
Straight talk, not consulting prose
I say what I see in the meeting, not afterwards in the corridor. If a figure is wrong or a decision is postponed, it gets raised while it can still make a difference.
Execution beats concept
A good concept that never reaches day-to-day work is worse than a simpler one that gets implemented. When in doubt, I opt for what your people can actually do on Monday.
Respect for the system
An organisation that has grown over time has reasons for its detours, even if they look pointless from outside. Anyone who ignores those reasons loses the people – and with them, the execution.
Reliability. Always.
Commitments on dates, documents and feedback stand even when they are inconvenient. What I cannot keep, I cancel in advance rather than explain afterwards.
What others have observed
Anyone can make commitments. Whether they hold up is shown by the people who have worked with me. Five qualities recur in employment references and recommendations from different institutions – each shown here with two pieces of evidence.
Copper edge: written by a person. Navy edge: stated in an employment or interim reference. The German originals are unchanged. The English is a translation, and any omission is marked.
I keep the whole picture in view.
Including the parts nobody is looking at right now.
“It would not have worked without you, because you always kept everything in view and always found solutions.”
“Thanks to his excellent grasp and his extensive specialist knowledge, Mr Slotta kept an overview even of difficult situations and always judged them with confidence.”
I work precisely.
A figure that is wrong does not get left lying.
“No distance is too far, no analysis too laborious; every detail finds its place in the mosaic of the solution.”
“We know Mr Slotta as a reliable and conscientious employee who carries out his work independently, with great care and accuracy.”
I stay with it until the goal is reached.
Even when it gets uncomfortable or time is short.
“Markus knows how to […] ‘reach the finish line’ and, in doing so, […] not to lose focus on what matters.”
“He delivers excellent work even under deadline pressure and in difficult conditions.”
I bring the organisation with me.
No change holds without the people in the organisation.
“While keeping sight of the big picture, you never lost sight of the needs of the banks in the association.”
“Working with you is marked by trust, respect and appreciation – across all levels of the hierarchy.”
I say what I see.
Better early than too late.
“His pronounced ability to build relationships and his straightforwardness led to successful cooperation with our management board, colleagues, staff and the banks of the association.”
“He expressed himself clearly, precisely and skilfully, making him a convincing and successful negotiating partner.”
Responsibility is not part of the mandate.
“The ability to stay capable of acting under the greatest pressure is no coincidence. It is developed over years. […] at the moment when a young player learns that responsibility is not something you pass on, but something you take on.”
Kahn wrote this about football. In change programmes it applies just the same: where things get uncomfortable, the decision moves upwards, sideways or into the next committee – and six months later nobody asks who should actually have made it.
The same sentence also marks the limit of my work. I take on the execution, not your responsibility. A programme that only runs while I am in the building has failed – even if the numbers are right in the end. That is why every mandate has an agreed end date. And that is why I need someone on your side who has the authority to decide.
What I need from you
For all of the above to hold, four things are needed on your side. If one of them is missing, I would rather say so before the contract is signed than in week six.
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A sponsor who has the authority to decide
Not someone who passes decisions on, but someone who makes them. Otherwise every proposal turns into a board paper and every week into another loop.
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Access to the figures, including the uncomfortable ones
I do not need a flattering picture, I need the right one. The documents do not have to be tidy – but they do have to be complete.
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One hour every two weeks
A fixed meeting with the sponsor, short and without a battle of slide decks. This hour does more for success than any workshop in between.
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The willingness to hear an uncomfortable answer
Anyone who brings in an outsider and only wants confirmation is wasting money. You do not have to follow my assessment – but it should be allowed to be said.
Confidentiality and tools
What is discussed in a mandate stays there. I only name clients with their written approval – which is why this website shows results and key figures, but not always the organisation behind them.
I use artificial intelligence as a tool, openly and traceably. What exactly I use it for, what happens to your documents and who bears professional responsibility is set out on a separate page.
Further reading:
Your next step
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Do you need someone from outside at all?
Six reasons that tip the balance in mandates – and three situations in which I advise against it.
Why external support -
Is an enquiry worthwhile?
Seven statements, about 90 seconds, an honest assessment – before you pick up the phone.
Take the mandate check -
Who is behind this
Career, experience and the voices of those who have worked with me.
About
Thirty minutes. Then you know where you stand.
Describe the situation to me. I will tell you what I see – and whether I am the right person for it. If I am not, I will tell you in the same conversation.