No Decisions

As a leader you are often recognized for the things that you did – such as expanding the marketplace, acquiring a company, introducing a new product. But many times it’s the things you didn’t do that have as much impact.

As a young parent 20 years ago, I quickly learned the importance of saying “no.” It was my way of keeping my children on the right track. It was hard to say no back then and it still is today.

It’s the same in business. Saying no is one of the most powerful, yet difficult moves a leader can make. It’s way easier to say “yes.”

As the leader of a rapidly growing technology company, I’m constantly involved in decision making. There are really only two decisions to be made – yes in support of the decision, or no and we move on. A third that often gets introduced is maybe. In business, there’s no place for maybe. Maybe is not a decision. Maybe cannot be acted on. It’s not executable.

Saying No
No
 decisions are often the hardest. As I look back at Marco’s history, it’s some of the “no decisions” that defined the company. They are some of the best decisions Marco has made.

One of our best “no decisions” was made almost a decade ago when a company pursued acquiring Marco. The Marco leadership team boarded their company’s corporate jet to visit their headquarters, meet their executives and determine if we should move forward.

Even though the price was attractive, we said “no.” Instead, we began exploring an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).

Certainly, becoming 100 percent employee-owned is among the best decisions we’ve ever made at Marco. But that’s not the only reason it rises to the top. The large publicly held corporation that attempted to buy Marco eventually went bankrupt and shutdown. In the end, if we had not said no, Marco would not be here.

Shaping Our Future
Another “no decision” that shaped our future was closing Marco’s retail operations to focus on direct sales efforts. Making the decision was not easy. Marco was known in the market as a retail office products company  - it was the reason why we moved to the busiest strip on Division Street in 1987.

The decision to exit the multi-million dollar office supply and retail business impacted how we were perceived in the marketplace. It was not a decision that would be made quietly.  The closure would be highly visible to the company and our customers. But the decision was necessary to transition Marco to a direct sales and service technology provider.

Business leaders are expected to make good decisions. It’s our job. Whether it’s selling a division, buying another business or hiring a key employee, good decisions can shape your future or take you out of the game. Good decisions start with evaluation. Get the facts. Understand the options. Anticipate the outcomes. Then, decide - yes or no

Just like in parenting, saying yes may be easy. But past experience has proven that sometimes the right decision is a “nodecision.”

Topics: Leadership