How to Overcome The Dreaded Dr. No
Dr. No, a 1962 spy film directed by Terence Young
You know Dr. No — that person in a position of authority who makes unilateral decisions based primarily on what has been done before and what fits into the box or the budget. Those decisions generally come down to, “No.”
“No, you can’t do that.”
“I don’t see how that could succeed.”
“We have no precedent for that.”
“We don’t have the resources for that.”
In my strategic marketing career, I encountered countless Dr. Nos. My role was to find ways to grow revenues and brand perceptions through new products or services, marketing strategies, alliances, new markets or other opportunities.
New ideas nearly always require reallocation of financial and/or human resources, not to mention open-minded collaborators.
I encountered dreaded Dr. Nos throughout companies in sales, finance, production and the executive suite. “We already have too much on our plate,” “There’s no budget for that,” “We’ve never done that here” and the ever-popular and elegantly simple “NO.”
I was also fortunate to work with many forward-thinking individuals. A couple of examples:
My role in brand extension required new ideas, products and markets. In one company, several of the other executives were dead-set against anything I came up with, primarily because “that’s not what we do.” But the CFO saw the potential growth and helped push through my plans. He found numerous ways to help me win over the other executives and allow us to succeed together.
As the newly-hired leader of another company’s Marketing Department, I sat down with an executive in Finance.
He introduced himself as my partner. Riiiiiiight, I thought.
But he went on to explain that he viewed his role as an enabler; he wanted to enable Marketing to try new ideas to increase revenues. Of course, we needed to set up success metrics, but he continually came up with new ways to allocate resources and help me fight for them.
I learned an important lesson from these two and other amazing people, which applies to both my personal and professional life. I try very hard to listen, understand, ask questions, then help others find a way to make their plans, dreams and goals happen. I work very hard to say “YES.”
Please share your stories of finding a way!
Kind regards,
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Fundamental #13: FIND A WAY
Respond to every situation by looking for how we can do it, rather than explaining why it can’t be done. Take personal responsibility. Be innovative, assertive and take initiative.
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