You are what you believe. If the people in an organization think the company is small, they will act that way. If they think the company is big, they will act that way. It all comes down to belief.
When leaders speak, they set the tone for what they and the people they lead believe. I remember once working with a CEO who when he gave his monthly speech to all employees he called the company “little”. At the same company, I heard the VP of Sales tell his sales team during a quarterly planning session that the company is “small”.
The company had more than a decade long track record. Thousands of customers. Incredible products. Fabulous customer stories. Yet the senior leaders were still talking about the company being “small”.
In the twenty years I spent at Robelle, we never thought about ourselves as small. We would show up at trade shows with our 10 X 20 booth, while the “big ones” spent hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars on enormous booths and displays. Our booth would be lined up with customers and prospects. Their booths would be empty. Our booth was filled with talented individuals who answered all the technical and business questions thrown our way. People came away from the “big ones” wondering if anyone in the company had any product or solution knowledge. It all came down to what we believed. What we believed was how we acted. How we acted was how we were perceived. We were big.
What do you believe?
