Threatening to Quit for What You Believe In
A Power-Up to help you overcome a tough "boss" in the game of business
Welcome to the latest entry in The Workaround. You’re in good company with thousands of fellow entrepreneurs and innovators!
I’m Bob, your host. My mission here is to share personal, behind-the-scenes stories of the ups and downs of my career leading tech startups and corporate innovation.
I write to make you think, smile, and discover a shortcut to success or a trap to avoid.
Here we go…
Last week I caught up with an old friend who had recently moved to a leadership position with a non-profit. This was his first non-profit job after a career in large companies and startups, so I was very curious to hear about his experience in a much different environment. His answer was unexpected:
“It’s great! I’ve threatened to quit my job three times already!”
I was initially shocked but not really surprised. He took the job because he saw the opportunity to do great work based on his decades of experience and limitless passion.
His Board of Directors isn’t nearly as knowledgeable or passionate. This is the 50th priority on their list and far outside their day-to-day work. Despite their distance, they thought they needed to make decisions and direct him—after all, as senior leaders of large companies, that’s what they’ve always done!
But they sure don’t want to do the work themselves and fear finding a replacement. So, a good brush back now and then allows my friend to do what’s right. And he and his team are progressing like the organization has never seen before.
Our conversation brought me back to the first time I threatened to quit my job over a key business decision. This move allowed me to unlock new career success. You might want to keep it handy, too.
Back to Washing Cars
This story goes back to my work in new products and categories at Procter & Gamble, specifically to launching Mr. Clean AutoDry Car Wash. It was a true disruption in the car care aisle—a sprayer with special soap and filter that allowed consumers to wash their cars at home without drying them. I shared a few other stories recently about this launch here and here.
Let’s flash back to Fall 2003. We’ve tested our product with consumers, and they are loving it. We’ve got the green light to launch nationally in Spring 2004 and a $30 million budget to get it done. My team and I put together a budget that includes heavy TV and Print media—which are standard for any P&G launch—and we hit the road to share our product and plans with key auto retailers. Our goal that Fall is to get as many early order commitments as possible.
My first meeting is with the auto buyer at Walmart. This critical customer represents over 30% of national auto care sales. We fly to Fayetteville, Arkansas, rent a car, and drive directly to Walmart HQ. Within minutes, we sign in and are escorted to the most tiny, drab conference room you’ve ever seen. This is by design: Walmart is known for being tough negotiators who want you to know they want to save every penny. Fancy office furniture takes money out of their customers’ hands. So I set my laptop up on the peeling, 1970s-era table.
Our Buyer comes in, and we exchange very few pleasantries before I start my pitch. I hit all the key points: We’ve got something that brings 10x more revenue per car wash, we’re bringing $30 million of media into the category, and consumers love this so much that they will visit the auto care aisle a lot more often. The Buyer nods at each point. He confirms his interest but asks about our marketing plan…
Buyer: “When are you starting your marketing?”
Me: “Well, we know Spring is when most people start washing their cars again. That’s why we’ll start our TV and Print media in April.”
Buyer: “That’s a problem.”
Me: “It is?”
Buyer: “Yeah, here’s the deal: The first nice day in Spring is when guys come in and buy car wash supplies. We might not see them back until late summer. Media takes months to generate enough Awareness, so if you only start it in April, you’ll miss the initial big wave of purchases.”
I leave the meeting excited about their interest, but now worried about our media plan. Doing things the normal P&G way in this new category could kill our chance at success. The issue keeps coming up as I have similar discussions with the Buyers at Target, AutoZone, and Costco.
My brain is befuddled…until I remember the Crest Whitestrips success story.
A year or so earlier, Whitestrips, the home teeth-whitening kit, had its national launch delayed because its first batch of products didn’t last long enough on the shelf. Its team was stuck with thousands of cases of product. Instead of dumping them in a landfill, they sold them directly to consumers through infomercials and early influencer seeding. When Whitestrips eventually launched, it crushed sales expectations because many of its target consumers had already heard about it through this small direct sales effort.
We decided to steal this idea and do the same. My team and I put together a plan to spend about $2 million of our budget in the Fall before launch. We would sell our initial test devices through a modest website at a premium to our national price. We would buy cheap infomercial media that “car guys” watched on cable channels and give free devices to moderators of dozens of car-focused discussion forums.
With plans now in hand, I’m now sitting in a much fancier conference room at P&G headquarters, presenting our launch plans to “George”—the President of our Home Care division. George is three levels above me in the hierarchy and sits in an expansive corner office on our floor. My much more modest office happens to be right next to his.
I proceed to share all of the details of our launch. I’ve already gotten buy-in from my first two levels of bosses, and this George meeting is expected to be a walk in the park. I excitedly get to the part where I share our Seeding strategy as a solution to the unique first-nice-day-in-Spring challenge our retail partners brought up.
But George stops me. He doesn’t like that idea. He brings up the recent story of Clorox copying our latest Swiffer product quicker than we expected. George doesn’t want to give competitors a chance to copy us. I push back, but George won’t have it. The meeting is over.
Betting My Job on the Right Thing
I trudge back to my office, collapse in my chair, and consider what to do next. It doesn’t take me long to recognize that our launch will likely fail if we don’t follow my Seeding recommendation. All the hard work will be wasted and I will have another corporate innovation failure on my resume.
On the other hand, what can I do? George is the decision-maker. He oversees a multi-billion-dollar global collection of brands. This is peanuts to him, just one of many products launched under his watch over the next year.
But this is everything to me. I’ve been hired to build just this one business. I’m the guy who has spent months in retailers’ aisles and car guys’ driveways. I know this Seeding approach is critical.
I’ll threaten to quit—I’ve got nothing to lose!
Well, I have a few things at stake—a mortgage, a lovely wife at home juggling two young daughters, and student loans from my fancy MBA degree. Sometimes, people take you up on the offer to quit, and George is known for firing people on the spot.
After a day or two of sleep on it, I walk out of my office and over to Jorge’s door. I peek in, see he’s at his desk, and do the little knock-knock thing to get his attention. “You got a minute?” He nods. I’m not really nervous because either outcome will be the right one. Either I get what I want, or I will learn this company is no longer a place for me. Time to meet fate…
My prepared speech goes a little something like this:
“Hey, George, I want to talk with you about the Seeding strategy I recommended the other day…I still believe this is the only way we’re going to succeed. There’s no other way to get off to the right start. We’re only spending 6% of our budget. And if we don’t do this, we won’t be able to create a category worth defending from competition.
You guys put me in this job to see it through. I’ve done the work and need you to trust me to do the right thing. If you won’t let me follow through on this plan, you can find someone else to lead it.”
George sizes me up…and gives in. He says he’ll go along with it—as long as I do a few other (easy) things for us to try and deflect his competitive worries. I march back to my office and pump my fist. Game on.
After Action Report
Business-wise, the strategy is an outstanding success. It gets buzz stoked in the market. After a few months, we sell out of our initial product run. On the day of our launch, we run a research study and see that Awareness among our target audience is already 25% and +50% among the core group of people who wash their cars at home at least once weekly.
The launch blows away expectations. We have to airlift devices from China to meet surging demand at Walmart, Target, and AutoZone. Many, many men and women go into the auto care aisle on that first nice day in Spring and plop down $19.99 for this innovation they’d been hearing about.
Boy, seeing a decision you’ve fought for turn into $80 million in Year One sales is fun.
It’s also fun to look back on the lessons.
First, you must stand up for yourself when you truly believe the alternative is a personal failure. This could be a business failure due to a key decision, but it could also be a “moral failure” if your company pressures you to do something unethical.
Second, people with less conviction will often stand down. George, like other bosses and boards, found it easy to issue commands in part because they don’t have to personally live with them. On the other hand, finding a replacement for you because they didn’t let you make the decisions they hired you for looks bad on them and forces them to do real work to clean up their mess. They now fear you.
I wouldn’t recommend using this strategy as a bluff. You’ve got to be ready to live (and leave) with the consequences. It’s also not something to do if your strategy for climbing the corporate ladder is to attach yourself to someone like George. But I doubt George would take me under his wing after a failed product launch.
And why tie yourself to a weak leader anyway? Given enough time, they will likely fail. Since then, George has bounced around quite a bit, and I don’t think anyone came along with him.
On the other hand, my business's success led many other, stronger company leaders to want me on their teams.
You Can Do It, Too
I eventually left my BigCo job to become an entrepreneur. Although I haven’t had a traditional boss since then, I’ve had to force some pretty big confrontations with investors and acquirers to do what’s right for our business and teams. I don’t relish these moments, but I accept them as part of the journey of a responsible leader.
Yesterday, I happened to hop on a Zoom with my friend, Robyn, who was also on the P&G new products team with me nearly 25 years ago. Back then, she was breaking eggs and pissing off people while trying to get Swiffer off the ground—and she inspired me. In the years since, she became a consultant in corporate innovation, and has seen scores of leaders at various companies face internal barriers as I did.
Robyn told me she often acts as an “unlicensed therapist” for her clients and has frequently told them, “If you haven’t threatened to quit, you’re not pushing hard enough.” Amen.
My threat was a defining moment in my evolution as a business leader, and I can thank George for showing me that.
Looking back on life and some recent stories I’ve told here, here, here, and here, I see that all of the people we struggle with are really personal tests in disguise. Their challenge leads to our improvement.
If you’re into video games, you are likely familiar with the concept of a “Boss” at the end of a level. This is the tough character you have to overcome to move forward. It’s ironic because I feel that work can be played as a game. And sometimes our literal bosses must be overcome for us to level up our careers.
But I think the final, ultimate “boss” we all face is our own egos—mostly the fears that cause us stress and can prevent us from doing what is right. If we can tame this opponent, the game of work and life gets a lot more fun.
How we might work together…
My team and I lead Hearty, a boutique recruiting service that helps tech-forward companies hire proven talent. Our senior team of operators sources and screens, saving you time and money. When you need help, let’s chat.
Need help with a software project? Perhaps a product MVP, a project that requires outside help, or a fractional CTO for key strategic decisions? Our team at Shipwright Studio has worked together to build multiple successful startups, and we love helping leaders turn their dreams into reality. We're the team our clients trust for software built to last.
Looking for Influencer Marketing and Content Creation? The team from our previous company is back by popular demand with A2 Influence. We’re ramping up now and would love to share more.
Feel free to schedule time together during my Open Hours for questions, feedback, networking, or any other topic!
BONUS: Cool Content of the Week
A little something I found meaningful. You might agree…
Tagged Post Collection
This week, a new subscriber I met through LinkedIn mentioned he was exploring a career transition. I thought, “Well, I’ve written several posts on that topic; let me share a few examples.” Unfortunately, looking through my own posts was painful. This was the kick in the pants I needed to tag my posts according to topic.
So if you’d like to easily browse my 178 posts and counting, head to this page. I’ve listed collections on topics such as “Hiring,” “Corporate Innovations,” and “Startups.” It’s a great place to start if you’re a new subscriber or a resource when you’ve got specific challenges on your plate. Enjoy!