When hard work isn't enough...
An incident of note this week, and an interesting discussion point for those who lament the supremacy of political influencing over old-fashioned honesty and hard-work.
After a protracted effort at resolving a difficult situation, brought about to a large extent by working from a flawed basis supplied by a third party, the situation ended with the disappointment of a discontinued contract. This is both an unusual situation (we pride ourselves on retaining trade - both key accounts and our smallest customers) and a terribly frustrating one - it's hard to see how more could have been done from the point of view of technical and operational measures; and all of the team who worked on the project and made every effort to redress the situation have had a little wind taken out of their sails. However, it is on the other hand easy to see how more could have been achieved through courting (and flattering) the third party.
Failure to get close to a key influencer has cost the team the project on this occasion - and it's a political lesson learned; the process of admitting problems (read "issues") and communicating with customers has won many hearts but it can be misconstrued as a sign of uncertainty or weakness. Hiding one's weaknesses is a skill well worth learning if it leads to confidence that benefits the individual or the recipient, but if it's simply a tool for re-writing events, there's sure to be someone feeling wronged as they drink a pint or pour a glass of wine on a Friday evening.
But the key lesson is also not to burn bridges - remaining true to the honesty, openness and candour that has generated success so far must be tempered with acceptance that you win some and lose some. The hope is that when the opportunity next arrives, it will be more of a level playing field. And perhaps it will be a with a slightly steelier edge that relations must be conducted in the future.
After a protracted effort at resolving a difficult situation, brought about to a large extent by working from a flawed basis supplied by a third party, the situation ended with the disappointment of a discontinued contract. This is both an unusual situation (we pride ourselves on retaining trade - both key accounts and our smallest customers) and a terribly frustrating one - it's hard to see how more could have been done from the point of view of technical and operational measures; and all of the team who worked on the project and made every effort to redress the situation have had a little wind taken out of their sails. However, it is on the other hand easy to see how more could have been achieved through courting (and flattering) the third party.
Failure to get close to a key influencer has cost the team the project on this occasion - and it's a political lesson learned; the process of admitting problems (read "issues") and communicating with customers has won many hearts but it can be misconstrued as a sign of uncertainty or weakness. Hiding one's weaknesses is a skill well worth learning if it leads to confidence that benefits the individual or the recipient, but if it's simply a tool for re-writing events, there's sure to be someone feeling wronged as they drink a pint or pour a glass of wine on a Friday evening.
But the key lesson is also not to burn bridges - remaining true to the honesty, openness and candour that has generated success so far must be tempered with acceptance that you win some and lose some. The hope is that when the opportunity next arrives, it will be more of a level playing field. And perhaps it will be a with a slightly steelier edge that relations must be conducted in the future.
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