Then Why Haven’t You?

Then Why Haven’t You?

One of the issues today is organizational arrogance. Ironically, it’s not so much in the executive suite as it is in middle management—in the bureaucracy. Whenever anyone has said to me, “We can do that ourselves,” I ask, “Then why haven’t you, if we agree it’s so important? And how many other important things can you ‘do yourselves’ that you haven’t?”

Of course, this is also why you need to be alone with a buyer, not surrounded by chattering subordinates and HR people. When a buyer tells me, “We could do that ourselves,” I ask, “How’s that working out for you?”

Bureaucracy is false courage, it tends to crumble before a direct attack.