It was the late 80’s and I’d just joined Hasselblad as the new president of the US subsidiary. I had started mid-year and took the advice of a good friend who suggested I just spend the first few months listening and watching. By October I felt I had a good handle on what we needed to do to boost sales and get Hasselblad on the map as a marketing entity. Everybody knew the company and the brand, but we had a reputation of being arrogant and hard to talk to.
We had a lot of great plans in the pipeline and one of the magazines wanted to do an an interview with me. I was incredibly excited when they ran everything I said, almost word for word. I read the interview and my ego couldn’t have been more out of control. After all it was my first interview in a national magazine.
About an hour later I was nauseous! While the article was extremely positive and positioned Hasselblad in exactly the right light, in being enthusiastic about our plans I had managed to broadcast our entire marketing plan for the following year. In an effort to gain a little editorial bragging rights, I had literally given our competitors a blueprint of everything we were going to target.
This is an easy lesson to remember. We all need to share new ideas and solutions to deal with the challenges in the market place today, but you don’t need to share all the details of everything you’re excited about. Just play it smart and hold off on the bragging rights until you’ve really got something to brag about!
My Dad always used to say, “The house isn’t really yours until you pass papers and there are so many things that can change before your signature is on the mortgage!”
________
This post sponsored by Adorama – More than a camera store
