Most entrepreneurs say some version of this early on:
“I’ll say no when I can afford to.”
So we take on the client, or the project, or get into the partnership.
In saying yes we’re accepting reputational risk to mitigate revenue risk.
And before you say, "there's no reputational risk", what happens to your self-esteem when you sell-out?
Perhaps in the beginning, a degree of compromise is necessary. But at some point you feel the misalignment betwixt your expectations, your values, and what success looks like to you.
Then what happens to your leadership? The work becomes frustrating, or worse, boring. Your standards drop. You stop enjoying what you do. You become known for work you don’t actually want to do.
And eventually, the business starts pulling you away from yourself rather than expressing who you are.
The irony is that many entrepreneurs think saying yes to everything is what maximises opportunity. But the opposite is often true. Your team and customer feel it too. Your most dynamic people stop trusting the vision and leave, and high-calibre clients smell the panic.
Self-Determination Theory suggests that people perform best when their work offers them autonomy, reflects and enhances their competence, and feels meaningful.
Therefore, when your business consistently violates your values, motivation becomes harder to sustain because your work no longer feels self-directed or meaningful.
For me (and my client), my work has to feel meaningful, drive change and be fun. My gut tells me that if I’m not feeling it, they won’t be either, and left unaddressed, its countdown to the end of the relationship.
I hope and believe that the people and businesses that become genuinely world-class are the ones willing to narrow their focus, protect their standards and tolerate the discomfort of saying no.
Sacking a client or turning down work is rarely a commercial decision. It’s usually an identity decision. Who am I? What do I value? What kind of business do I actually want to build?
Three thoughts I have:
Do I want my business and life to look like this?
Am I entering into the relationship with shared values and objectives?
Do I need to check-in and make sure we're still aligned?
