Reputational, Financial, and Relational Strain

I’m forever grateful for the opportunities I’ve had throughout my life in a capitalistic society. Healthy competition between companies in the private sector forces everyone to work tirelessly toward building their best possible product or service. When all things are even close to being equal, quality and delivery win every time. That said, I can’t point to a single time where I’ve experienced a government-funded entity, an actual public sector one or a privately held one that’s sucking from the public trough, that’s provided excellent results or even moderate service. When there’s no consequence for our action, there’s little reason to go so far as attempting to exceed expectations.

Believe it or not, this isn’t my normal political rant where I do everything in my power to step on the toes of both parties. In this case, it ties directly to the contract we refused to sign with that institution late in the summer or 2017. When we stepped away from that potential partnership - largely because we were carrying all the upfront investment and stood to lose access to anyone we business relationship we brought to the table - the individual calling their shots immediately attempted to find someone else who could secure a license so they had access to the same content.

I remember where I stood when the person they approached walked up to me and shared a bull shit story suggesting he didn’t understand the scope of what they had requested or the skin Cindy and I already had in the game. He was with a friend and I was alone at the time. I replied by telling him that he was either far dumber than he looked or a liar, and Cindy walked up on the conversation just in time to hear it. To say he was tense through the remainder of the exchange would be an understatement. Good, bad, or indifferent, I meant every word of what I said. And to top it all off, he wasn’t eligible to purchase the necessary license anyway. 

Fast-forward a few weeks, likely late August or early September, I received a call from a friend who lived nearly an hour south of me, almost a two-hour drive from the institution we chose not to lock arms with. He worked for a state agency that had a few loose ties with the institution and had received a mailer detailing the event they were hosting one day before the one we had since finalized a new location for. The mailer was sent to his private residence and paid for with our tax dollars, sharing specifics of something they didn’t even have a license to provide. As I mentioned before, I’m all about free-market competition. I do, however, have a significant issue with the folks who are spending money pillaged from me as taxes in a blatant attempt to undermine private business. In some cases, it happens with no ill-intent; this was not one.

Despite that institution’s very intentional efforts to sabotage the event Cindy and I had invested heavily in, we were able to put on a solid show for a decent crowd. That said, they sowed enough confusion and uncertainty into the surrounding area to indeed limit the impact we had; that’s their seed, not mine. We had no choice but to push forward and look for every possible seed to equal or greater benefits along the way. Even then, though, systems conflicts amplify uncertainty; owning the ripples and pursuing principled cooperation unlocks stronger alliances.

In complete transparency, we’ve had nothing to do with that institution since. Still yet, I don’t wish them any harm - even if I have zero remaining respect for them. Through it all, we did build several strong relationships in that area which have compounded since. Justice always emerges (hence the idea of as you sow, so shall you reap). We’ll dig into that more next. First, though, I want you to take the time to write down the specifics of a past institutional conflict’s effect. Honestly note your contribution, whatever that may have been, and detail which leadership attribute it helped you grow stronger in.