Time Warner Chairman Dick Parsons once told me (and a million other Fortune subscribers) that you don’t want to try to squeeze every concession out of a counterpart in a deal because if you did, that person would resent you down the line (I’m paraphrasing, if that wasn’t obvious).
I apply that to my wheelings and dealings in business: I point out the risks and outline a realistic but conservative upside so that everyone feels good about the deal, and everyone knows the potential pitfalls.
“Net-net,” it’s helped get to where I am. But on countless of occasions, it has hurt me. After all, the flip side to that philosophy means that sometimes you don’t have the answers but instead have to ask some tough questions.
When my last company sold, for example, my three partners who were majority shareholders didn’t want to rock the boat. Neither did I. But because some questions needed to be asked, I would play the part of the bad guy. That made a lot of people at the acquiring party dislike me from the get-go… that didn’t help me at all. Combined with the fact that I’m not a suckup and respect people for their thoughts, words and actions and not their titles or rank, I was a dead man walking.
When you’re the President of a company, you have to be candid with employees. Is there such a thing as too much candor though? An old boss of mine would outright lie. We’re not talking:
Employee’s question: “What day is it?”
Boss’ answer: “Friday,” when it’s actually Tuesday.
We’re talking answering “Pluto.”
In other words, totally misinform, misrepresent and manipulate, act dumb if you must. It was bastardly, but it did the trick: sooner or later, employees understood that an honest answer was not in the pipeline so they would not ask him anything… he was relieved of having to be candid. I hated every minute of it.
Today as I run a media company with a major interest in video (a new field), I find myself applying the lessons of each and every deal to the new ones I sign. I find that it’s my duty to share some of those tidbits so that the deals turn out win-win and both parties stay with it over time.
However, being candid with executives and managers at other companies is not the same as being honest with your colleagues.
But then I wonder: is that wise?
Should I come across as a know-it-all or should I shut up?
Why not just shut my trap and act dumb. It worked wonders for another one of my old bosses (though I’m not sure it was an act).
I’m not asking if I should be lying since the truth always comes out (memo to my former partners, by the way). After all, if you tell lies you lose all credibility when the truth comes out…
But sometimes I wonder if acting dumb is sound management. Probably not, but worth asking.
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