Why you should never say never
Even after 20 years in business (and more years of life in general), there are some important lessons I never seem to learn. One of them is to stop speaking in absolutes.
I've often made, or heard others make, declarations with such confidence and certainty that you'd think clairvoyance was a legitimate business planning tool. And more times than not, those pronouncements haven't held up.
The fact is, even the best-planned, best-run business rarely goes exactly where you think it will in the way you think it will. As certain as some things may seem today, you may look back in a week, or year or five and realize how little you saw coming. So think twice before you cross your arms after writing something in stone.
Just a very few of the "always/never" situations I see companies and managers getting into, often backpedaling out of later:
"We'll always beat any price." This is obviously the entire sales and marketing plan for some companies, and some -- though I'd say a minority -- do very well as lowest-cost providers. But for most businesses, especially small ones, making bold, sweeping price promises can be a race to the bottom. Unless your secret sauce really does allow you to undercut any competitor and still make a living, better to temper your claims. Make it clear that you're competitive without guaranteeing anything, sell on your value and service, and never be afraid to lose a sale or customer if it won't be profitable. You should not "always" be willing to lose money
"Our policies are absolutely firm, no exceptions." This one came to mind because of developments I've noticed in the luggage industry, which is closely related to my business. For years, there were major players who were in the enviable position of being able to tightly restrict their distribution channels, completely controlling their retail customers' pricing (no discounts, ever), inventory levels and advertising of their brands (down to the images that could be shown online). The retailers didn't like it, but had to put up with it if they wanted to carry certain premier lines. But over the past few years, those brands started to face some serious competition, and today they are not only discounting, but also selling direct on their own websites -- breaking their once-strict channel policies -- and emailing constant off-price, direct-to-consumer offers. There's nothing wrong with any of this, it is the way business is these days. But they are things about which these king-of-the-hill brands would have said "never gonna happen" a few years ago.
"The small print will never be an issue." It's among the most common assumptions, whether it's a software license, sales order, lease or any other contract, that most of us -- especially small business owners who don't have deep pockets for legal advice -- take our chances glossing over what we think are minutiae. That's because usually it proves to be nothing to worry about... until it is. If you're going to sign on a dotted line without studying all the lines above it, make sure you consider the importance and relative risk of what you're signing. If the worst-case scenario is that you're obligated to pay for pods the rest of the year if you discontinue your coffee service, maybe you can live with that. But if it could cost you a fortune, or land you in court, you might not want to be cavalier about all that boilerplate.
"We'll never need more (or less) space." My family's previous business moved, supplemented, and/or added on to its facilities eight times in 50 years. Maybe that doesn't seem like a lot, but each time we moved or expanded, we said, "We'll never need more space than this," then took even a little less than that. Each time we wound up hemming ourselves in -- having to rent extra space somewhere for storage, or not having enough land to build on -- and that can be expensive and inefficient. Sure, growth is a good problem to have, and of course not being able to predict the future works both ways, but the point is to think through all possibilities. You can't know what you can't know, but try to avoid concrete assumptions when making big decisions. You may not be able to buy or rent a larger building before you need one, but you might come up with some backup plans before you're under pressure and your options narrow.
We've all heard that it's wise to assume things will take twice as long and cost twice as much as expected, and that is, in fact, usually good advice. In much the same way, when you make business decisions, set policies or negotiate deals, there's usually no need to do so dogmatically -- leave yourself some wiggle room and expect the unexpected -- there's rarely any downside, and it lets you roll with the changes (you know, the ones you were sure weren't coming) easily and gracefully.
Feel free to share your own examples, or hard-earned lessons, of unequivocal statements later regretted. As for me, I will never, ever speak in absolutes again. Ever.