The long game, always

Every short term move you make to close a sale will come back to bite you. It’s obvious enough when the sale is a product or service – an over-promise, a nudge of pressure at the end to get the contract signed. The buyer notices. And with a smart buyer in a long-term relationship, the cost always shows up later. But it’s just as true for the sales we don’t always label as such. Hiring a candidate is a sale. Selling a candidate on a role is a sale. Convincing a teammate to take on a project is a sale. In each, the temptation to nudge things across the line – a stretched promise, an extra squeeze of pressure – is always there. And in each, the cost shows up in the months that follow. There will always be a short term extenuating circumstance. Something that makes this deal, this hire, this conversation feel like the exception. In long term games, the best way to play is to stay focused on the long term – even at the cost of the short term. Even when it is painful. Especially when it is…