Spar or strike?
How to preserve time, energy and sanity
By Michael Feuer
August 2006
“Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children.”
This quote from George Bernard Shaw could be used with literary license to describe an inexperienced manager’s early naive missteps and the value of a little seasoning. Most of us started our careers with determination, and a new, young manager launching a career typically undertakes everything with the same unbridled, dogged enthusiasm without filtering for the importance factor.
Much like young love, it’s exciting but oftentimes ephemeral as the new manager learns that not everything can be a cause celebre and a No. 1 priority. Most important, not every battle is even worth fighting. One of the most meaningful lessons a new manager learns is when to spar and when to strike.
In this same vein, one must learn that in the rough-and-tumble corporate/organizational world, getting in the last word in a business debate and proving one’s point just for the sake of being right are not always worth the effort. These are sure ways to dissipate energy and burn out.
The trick to producing, succeeding and excelling is to not succumb to futile exercises that don’t provide an adequate payback. Sure, people want to be right and are reticent to back down from a position that may be laudable and possibly even correct. However, before going to battle, ask this simple question: “To accomplish the objective or to prove a point, what is the investment in time and energy?” Always consider how much personal currency you will have to use to accomplish the goal.
This may seem mercenary, but after surviving the first 10 years of my career and maturing, I seldom did or said anything unless I knew what was in it for my company, for my cause or for me. Sounds Machiavellian, but it’s a pragmatic approach that avoids superfluous effort.
We all have limited mental and physical resources, so why waste them on issues that, at the end of the day, will do no good and no one will remember anyway?
Not many people would decide to go on a vacation, jump in the car and drive away without knowing where they were headed. The same applies to putting money in a bank account you should always know the interest rate.
These analogies apply to a business project, initiative or a debate with a boss, a board of directors, peers or subordinates. Know the payback.
Sometimes it’s healthy and even fun to go through the mental gymnastics of a friendly discussion. If you’re doing it for sport, go for it. However, realize what your motivation is and then enjoy the process, win, lose, or draw, if that is how you choose to spend your time.
Business transactions, service initiatives and product launches should employ the same ground rules as personal efforts. Many companies have gotten caught up in the chase for the sake of the chase. Wall Street is littered with what at first blush looked like the dream-come-true merger or acquisition.
A company goes down the road of the chase, and the contest over who wins begins to overshadow what the deal will produce in long-term benefits. The statistics on deals that actually work as planned are startling. According to a number of experts, only 25 percent of all U.S. business combinations ultimately produce results as originally promised, be it bottom line, top line or other transaction boast-and-brag synergies of market share gain, customer benefits of efficiency.
What happened? Most likely, one side got sucked into a battle that wasn’t worth winning. The rationale becomes that so much time, effort and ego were invested that the buyer didn’t want to back down, even though in their heart of hearts, they knew that something just wasn’t right.
Experience shows that some of the best deals are the ones that executives walk away from when the deal ceases to make sense. The headline announcing the big acquisition makes for great reading, but that same newspaper will wrap that night’s garbage, and the glory of the deal will soon bow to shareholders demanding to see the money.
For a more in-depth study on this subject, which can be understood in three minutes and 19 seconds, I direct you to one of my true business heroes, Kenny Rogers. This legendary composer sang “The Gambler,” which tells it like it is: “You need to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, know when to run.”
Remember, getting there is just the first phase of the real battle.
