I have been asked by James – thank you James – why I had bailed from using a certain supplier and whether I thought they would still be of use to him. I am sure many of you know who I am talking about and I answered him accordingly:
It was a question of morals. I bailed because my name had been used in a private email suggesting I had signed up and I hadn’t. I had also not been treated with the priority my over inflated ego was happy with and most of all I wasn’t happy with the ethics of it all. Because I have been let down by ex-staff in a similar way and I have considerable loyalty to where this business originates from.
But I also suggested that they may well be a very good fit for James because their skill set was very good and for his business it could be just the ticket. So I guess he’s going to give them a call.
Why didn’t I just tell him no? That this duo weren’t for him? He trusts my advice and if I’d said they were no good I am sure he wouldn’t have pursued it.
Because I am 100% honest. And in all honesty I would have been lying if I said I didn’t think this new company might be of use to him. Because for his business it may be the right thing.
I have very strong principles in life and business. Loyalty is a very big one for me. Honesty too. And you all know about Shared Success – mutually beneficial partnerships in which all businesses prosper. It’s our founding principle. And I have to go big with my intuition. I have to live and die by all those elements. They are my morals in business – and if I ever sway off these outlines my experience shows that it will bite me on the arse. We have a really defined culture of that at Diamond – and it’s a culture that is pretty Marmite – but we don’t mind that – people love it or hate it – and that’s fine. What’s important is that it’s clearly defined. A way of working that is uniquely Diamond. The Diamond Morals if you will.
Whenever I have pursued the quick win, the less that 100% deal, the slightly incongruent recruit it has bitten me on the bum. Now I can’t tell you what your own set of morals might be – but I strongly advise that you choose your set of morals and stick to them and run a morally congruent business – for you and your team.
Now sometimes those morals might piss people off – my honesty isn’t exactly subtle, and my loyalty sometimes means I have to take sides. And Shared Success means we say no to new recruits, clients and franchise probably more times than we say yes – because we know that in long term partnerships relationships are everything so we have learnt to select carefully.
What I am trying to say is find your own morals, stick to them and live a business that is congruent with your beliefs. Integrity is important and I think a little bit of honesty and a dash of loyalty to friend and foe – is a good ingredient to add to your recipe for success. Just make sure it fits with what’s 100% right for you.
I love the questions from Kates Q&A so keep ‘em coming. See you next month.