Why does it pay to FOCUS?

I take you back to 1995 again.

Selling computer hardware was tough, especially in an economically deprived region. We were educating and trying to sell at the same time.

It is unthinkable today, but back then all companies picked up orders with payment on delivery and successful installation. This was one of the flexibilities where a customer did not pay upfront. A norm at the time.

And then the company decided to introduce new payment terms that summer.

All orders with 100% advance. Delivery in 6-8 weeks. No exceptions.

A tunnel vision?

It was brutal.

We forgo sales.

We let go of goodwill or so we thought.

We were asked to recover past dues from customers.

There was only ONE priority.

Generate cash!

The ability to fathom all resources to a single priority is FOCUS.

Circle of life

4 months later, I called my office from a public phone booth to check some matters.

I was instructed to visit one of my customers as they wanted to speak to me. I reached the customer's office wondering what could be the matter.

To my surprise, I was asked if my company was still interested in the order declined due to disagreement on payment terms.

Naturally, I was curious about this change of heart.

Our competitor was unable to honor the commitment.

The lost order came back!

Vision to anticipate and courage to act

When I look back, this was one of many decisions the company took which was, in hindsight, existential.

They backed up their sales team and a lost deal was not considered a blot on the resume.

We overestimate short-term losses at the expense of long-term gains

It is easy to say yes, it takes courage to say no

A profitable company matters — customers, employees, and the community

3 companies had complete dominance in computer hardware in India in the mid-nineties. Only one survived.