Page 201 - Executive Warfare

Outsiders with Influence

If you are truly picking a vendor without help—maybe even in defiance
of a big boss’s wishes—understand that you own that vendor. If the law
firm you choose loses a big case that
costs the company $50 million, that is
your law firm, lock, stock, and barrel. Its IF YOU ARE TRULY
screw-up is your screw-up. PICKING A VENDOR
Expect the lawyer you’ve rejected, the WITHOUT HELP—
one with social ties to your bosses, to MAYBE EVEN IN
pounce on any such screw-up and use it DEFIANCE OF A BIG
to raise doubts about you. Vendors are BOSS’S WISHES—
great rumor mongers in part because UNDERSTAND THAT
they’re not accountable to anybody. YOU OWN THAT
Your ability to resist them diminishes VENDOR. ITS
greatly in the wake of a mistake.You can SCREW-UP IS
wind up having the entire responsibil- YOUR SCREW-UP.
ity in question stripped away from you.
And understand that vendors can
influence the course of your career over the long term. For example, if the
CEO’s about to retire and a vendor thinks that you have a shot at that job
and you’ve been particularly good to him, he will say nice things about you.
The opposite is true as well: If you tried to jack his firm out of there at some
point,he will do everything he can to promote a rival who seems more likely
to give him business in the future. None of them is suicidal, you know.
So how do you take control of these
slippery relationships? My advice is to
spread your business around whenever SPREAD YOUR
possible. If they are qualified, give all the BUSINESS AROUND
vendors with access above you a portion WHENEVER
of your business. POSSIBLE.
Dividing up the work among special-
ists often makes sound business sense. I
have never seen a single law firm that is equally good at everything.

181