Humans are conditioned to “fit in” from the moment we’re born. Organizations want our conformity: family, school, businesses, political parties, and nations. Even your Rotary Club wants you to believe and do certain things.
There’s a reason why organizations do this: brand
They may not call it a brand, but that’s what it is. Organizations decide, “This is who we are!” and project that into the world.
The hard part is your brand forces you to say that simple two-letter word: “NO.” It requires you to make hard decisions and avoid making exceptions.
Communicating Brand Through Storytelling
Try saying “no” without explaining why you made the decision. Awkward, isn’t it? The pressure to say “yes” and conform is real. Especially when there is money on the line.
Saying “yes” to everything is easy…until it’s not. The hard part is following through on your commitment. You cannot do everything or be everything to everyone, period, end of story.
Saying “NO”
There are several reasons we say “NO” at Element 47.
Over the years, I’ve told our story countless times. What we do, how we do it…story after story of how we do what we do.
Make it Better
“I know one thing to be true, prospect. Inside your head is a vision of success. The success that comes with hiring a branding agency like us. I also know that if Element 47 can’t clearly define what that success looks like – measurable success – we’re getting fired.”
At this point, the prospect’s eyebrows raise and their eyes get bigger. “Nobody’s ever explained it to me like that before.”
“Oh, and if we don’t think we have a VERY good chance of helping you achieve your goals, we’ll tell you no. We won’t work with you.”
Be Bold
I continue: “And this relationship will not work if we avoid hard conversations. You may not understand our strategy or recommendations. You may disagree with them. You have to say what’s on your mind. Ask questions and challenge us. We’re not fragile.”
More nodding.
“Yes, and…if we don’t have your buy-in to participate in these conversations, we’ll say no. We won’t work with you.”
The Value of Values
“Make it Better” and “Be Bold” are the first two of our four core values. You’ve probably worked with (or for) organizations with rosy, aspirational values hanging on their walls, fossils from a team meeting long ago. Ours actually mean something to our team. We live by them every day.
“We stand on business!” as the kids say. According to the ultraweb, it means: “take care of your responsibilities and stick to your word, especially when under pressure—‘walking the walk’ rather than just talking about it.”
It just makes life – and business – easier!