Some folks just don’t take ‘No’ for an answer… and that’s not always a virtue
I listened to a Fortune 100 CEO lament: “Our project teams understand ‘Yes’ and they understand ‘Maybe’, but they don’t understand ‘No’!” He felt as if hew was in an old Hollywood horror movie like The Mummy’s Curse: they think they killed the monster but it just keeps coming back to terrorize them.
In our ethos, the “Damn the Torpedoes” and “Never Say Die” attitudes run deep. Add to that, epic tales in corporate America of visionaries refusing to take “No” for an answer and courageously pushing their ideas forward to blockbuster success. Every industry with a significant history has its own stories of determined champions or cautionary tales of forsaken opportunities:
- IBM outsourcing their PC operating system to a tiny firm called Microsoft
- Borders underestimating the emergence of online sales
- Blockbuster ignoring delivery via streaming technology
These vivid legends capture the imagination and drown out the hundreds or thousands of off-target projects that burned up limited resources and weakened core strategies — then were quietly swept under the rug. History does not provide clear guidance; there are success stories on both sides of the debate so leaders must choose their path with care.
A small percentage of firms enjoy such a dominant position and such excess profits and resources that it makes perfect sense to deploy a portion of time and funds for ungoverned ventures.
And Then There’s The Rest Of Us
The more common experience for companies is ongoing hand-to-hand combat where a dominant market position is won only with brutal focus. Jim Collins’ research in Good to Great contends that most companies who attained enduring success maintained a laser-sharp focus on their core strategy. Initiatives not clearly support the core strategy were branded distractions and further attention to those distractions was not tolerated. These companies outperformed their competitors five-fold over a fifteen year period – even in mature industries.
As related in a previous article, Saying ”NO” To Great Ideas, it is VERY difficult to maintain that disciplined focus. It’s even more difficult when employees believe they are doing the company a favor by pressing ahead with their pet ideas even after being told “No” — possibly more than once.
It may take repetition, but executives need to maintain the mantra of focusing on the core strategies. Some executives have even dubbed continued work on declined projects as a “misappropriation of firm resources” to drive the point home.
“Misappropriation” may at first seem overly dramatic but it’s an accurate description. If a firm seeks to outperform the competition then its time, talent and money cannot get siphoned off by distractions – regardless of the champion’s good intentions. It’s easier if an organization can assure these potential rogues their ideas genuinely had a full and fair hearing — and that requires a rigorous, principle-based review process that is truly worthy of their trust. Absent that, keep the torches handy because those mummies will continue plodding along in the darkness, sucking up time, attention and talent.
Strategic Bets 