My father likes to state that your ego is your most expensive business partner. I’ve seen this firsthand in companies where the leader regularly proclaims their position or superiority. I’m all for it when it is accurate and not overstated.
I’m thinking of one particular company where the President consistently stated:
Our company does things better than any other company.
We are the best in our industry.
Nobody can do what we do.
Unfortunately, in this instance, these statements were just not accurate. The outcropping from this situation was painful for us. We were searching for a regional sales manager for this company. We lost good candidates because the President wouldn’t provide benefit information – he literally would define how many vacation days the candidate would receive, what the insurance plan was or what his quota would be.
I’m serious.
The candidate asked politely 3 different times. We begged him to provide it in writing. He wouldn’t. Yet, the President added the candidate to his sales team’s email list. He sent out some marketing material to the group and asked for feedback. The candidate, who had not signed any agreement, was stunned he was on the list. The President simply assumed the candidate would sign in spite of not providing the aforementioned information. He believe his company held that much sway over the candidate.
The candidate passed on the opportunity.
The issue was simple – the President’s perception of his small company and it’s allure to strong candidates was overstated. His ego cost him more than one good candidate.