Some believe you can postpone and ultimately avoid many difficult decisions. My experience is not making a decision is a decision in itself. But decisions matter and anyone worth listening to will advise you to learn from other’s mistakes. When starting a company, I advise would-be entrepreneurs to go to work for a company in the industry you want to start a business in–and learn from their successes and mistakes before starting your own.
Every college student knows the pattern…..good or bad—one decision leads to another and you are down a road you never thought you would travel. Maybe it was a romantic relationship, the particular college you attended, or the purchase of a pet/companion. You met people, learned things, spent time and resources on things you never planned. With a pet, you met other pet owners and joined a network. You became part of the pet fraternity. You went to pet friendly parks you never knew before. I know people that started smoking because someone they thought was “cool” smoked cigarettes. These new smokers are forced to join with other fellow smokers in special rooms or remote locations such as behind the high school bleachers–separated from main body of students. They associated with other smokers by necessity. Have you made a decision to accept an offer that led you down a strange of mysterious path?
If you work in business development you are charged with doing deals, creating alliances or even an acquisition that benefits your employer. Many of my classmates from Thunderbird and former students work in this area. As a business practitioner and coach, I am particularly interested in their experiences. I enjoy hearing success stories but I want to celebrate with my friends and former students. However, I have learned more from how companies failed because all of us we learn so much from failed experiments, products, or companies. I am fascinated with corresponding decision trees and the outcomes based on the failed company’s original objectives or goals. External influences are powerful and when the wind blows it easy to pull up the anchor and go with the flow. I made bad decisions when it appeared to be right because “it felt right” at the time. Maybe you can think of a similar experience.
One of my students traveled on a travel study course with me in Tokyo, Japan. He chose to go into a club in Roppongi that claimed in broken English to offer $50 massages. Unfortunately for my student he broke the rule of going somewhere alone and going somewhere he was told to avoid. $250 later (on his Visa card) he lamented his decision and the financial fallout. I tried to get a refund but when a 21 year old signs a Visa credit slip and agrees to the purchase it is hard get back to the original position. The $250 was lost forever.
In marketing, companies often co-op with another non-competitive company targeting similar customers to combine resources or cross-promote some offer. Unless both companies are perfectly suited for each other what appears to be a great synergy can easily drag one partner down. I experienced this with Above the Rim. When one footwear company chooses to sell through discounters or through outlet stores the “in-line” distribution suffers. JC Penny is attempting (Have you seen the show Ellen recently?) to rebrand itself after years of training its customers to buy during its all-to-frequent sales. Penny’s fell into the coupon habit and it led to a dependency I call retail “drug use”. The thrill of the first few experiences with the “sale” drug created a dependency metaphorically similar to the spike in top-line sales the retailers must have experienced when dropping high-value coupons. You can’t easily retrain your customers to buy at full-price (in line retail) when you hooked them on the “high” of buying at a deep discount or with coupons. Their road back for JC Penny will be an expensive one.
Individually, the outcome of our cumulative decisions form patterns, habits, and establish our ethical foundations. Today, students are taught as much by the media or their peers about ethics. Many believe they can get away with their bad decisions if they have the right friends, support groups, or financial resources. But bad decisions by companies or individuals deplete precious resources and create a negative “ripple” effect. Sometimes you lose something you can never get back.
It is hard to admit you made bad decisions, but being honest with your co-workers and the customer is always the best policy. People and consumers want to give you the benefit of doubt until you cross them twice. My advice is to learn from your mistakes and find a “true north” religiously or philosophically that guides your day-today decisions. Put down an anchor and stand firm. When tempted to cross the line consult someone stronger than yourself. Maybe that is your mentor, pastor, coach or parent. Stand up for those in your company that do the right thing even when the external forces are blowing you backwards. Better yet, be the mentor, coach, teacher, or parent worthy of that sacred trust.
