The King’s Advisor

In “The King’s Speech”, Prince Albert’s wife Elizabeth (mother of the current Queen of England) seeks out a speech therapist to help her husband overcome his stammer.

The Prince had tried many different “experts” and was exasperated with the effort and lack of results. So his wife decided to take charge and seek out an authority.

Let me just set the stage for a sec.

It had become obvious that his brother Edward would likely step down and Albert would ascend to the throne (a role he’d never prepared for and actively resisted). He’d spent years dealing with a stammer that when first heard publicly in a radio speech caused many Britons to wonder if he was up to the task of Prince, much less King. If he couldn’t communicate with his people, he wouldn’t be effective in his role.

The stakes were huge.

So when Elizabeth landed on the right expert, the right authority—Lionel Logue, an unconventional Australian actor and speech coach—she was prepared to overlook his “eccentricities” (what we would call his methodology).

He dictated that all meetings be in his studio rather than in the Prince’s private quarters. When she balked, he said fine, go find yourself someone else because I can’t make it work that way. Royalty isn’t used to being told what to do, but she swallowed hard and agreed to his terms.

Logue and the future king would meet daily—including weekends—for an hour. Also part of the methodology. And he insisted that Albert try everything, no matter how stupid it felt. Like speaking while loud music was playing behind him; voila—no stammer!

Over time a real friendship developed between them and of course the King’s speech speaks for the success of their professional relationship.

My point is this: when you’re the expert, when you’re the very best, you get to call the shots.

Which means you say no to any situation or stipulation that impedes your ability to deliver the transformational results you’re known for.

You can even be wildly eccentric, provided you deliver.

And while there is no mention of the price paid to Logue, you can darn well bet it wasn’t inconsequential—authority + transformational results don’t come cheap.