The Wisdom of Choosing the Unsafe Option
Last week I had coffee with someone who’s been a valued mentor and friend for more than 20 years. He told me a story about a time in his career when his employer went through a period of major change. He, and 35 of his colleagues in similar executive positions in other offices around the country, had a choice about the path forward; they could take a path endorsed by their parent organization or figure out their own route. He was one of only two that chose the latter. It wasn’t easy to buck the trend and go a different way, but he did so because he studied the information at hand and felt his organization and staff would be better off that way.
Within two years 34 of the 36 offices had ceded market share, leading to cutbacks of various kinds. Only two offices/teams had expanded operations, continued hiring, gained share, etc. Yep – it was the two whose leaders decided to take the road less traveled.
It’s been true forever: there are business decisions that have “safe” and “unsafe” options. I’ve personally spent a lot of time around technology companies, and they experience these choices all the time. For example, they can hire vendors that have been around a long time, built big brands, have well-known products, etc. to support their business – or go with niche startups that offer a better fit or higher upside. In these situations, the known entities with track records are commonly the ones chosen because they’re perceived as less risky. It’s a common saying in tech: people don’t get fired for making the safe choice.
But all too often, with the benefits of hindsight, we realize these safe choices are the wrong ones. In the same case above, the startup generates higher operating efficiency with less onboarding effort. Or they deliver a higher level of customer service because their success depends to a higher degree on your satisfaction. Or they’re cheaper. The reasons vary widely.
When you’re faced with uncomfortable decisions, I encourage you to do your homework and trust your gut. Make the decision that you can live with when you look yourself in the mirror, not necessarily the one that’s easiest to justify to your boss or colleagues. To me, at the end of the day, that’s what matters the most. And the best part – you’ll be right more often than you think.
Postscript: Game Changer Communications has never been the biggest, deepest or most popular agency. Put another way: even in situations when we were clearly the best choice, we’ve rarely been the “safe” option. Still, we’ve endured and always delivered…and then some. I can’t express enough thanks to the people that have gotten to know me/us, understood the real value I/we create and trusted me/us with their business. It’s an honor and privilege I’ve never taken lightly. Hearing these people tell me later they made the right choice… it means everything.
