A blog by Luke Thomas, Director of Spring
Short-term thinking or long-term thinking?
Make a fast buck, or deliver results for your clients?
Close your eyes and hope for the best, or build a brand on strong values?
It can be a painful moment. Your client says they have a budget signed-off and ready to go. You can picture the invoice – the lifeblood of any business’s cash flow. You hear the voices, saying: “Take the money it’ll be fine, you’ll make it work.”
You also hear things like this whizzing around in your head: “They’re not ready. It would probably work in another 18 months. They aren’t committed to the level of effort needed. This person IS on board, but that person is certainly NOT – and they have the greatest influence.”
There have been a good number of these situations faced by us at Spring.
Sometimes it feels like you don’t have enough information to even make the decision. But, going for the longer-term view has invariably made sound commercial sense for us. And our clients.
Turning down business short-term is powerful.
Often they thank you for it. Other times, they can question your sanity. Either way, you end up building trust, respect, and a stronger relationship.
It’s a principle that can be applied in many circumstances:
- Applying for a new job
- Managing a team
- Setting budgets
- Performance coaching
Knowing what you stand for has to come first. I love this old saying:
“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for everything.”
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