By Christon Valdivieso CSCP, SSBBP on SCMR.com

 

It is no secret that over the past several years the American economy continues to strengthen. As a result, the unemployment rate has steadily declined and more Americans are finding work or growing into better positions. By all accounts this is good for both people and business. However, as the economy grows, and the American workforce continues to rise through the hierarchy, they perpetuate an insidious condition that is sabotaging the modern business landscape.

 

There is a foundational belief that the customer is always right, and it constrains modern leaders because it prevents them from saying “No”. Saying “No” to a customer is difficult.

 

Fear of losing the customer or an opportunity usually drives leaders to acquiesce. Luckily, the internal customer—our employees and business partners—is the main group that needs to be told “No”. How often, for example, does your IT team find legacy hardware at employees’ desk because someone wanted to keep their old set-up? Similarly, how many organizations find themselves with various ERP or business intelligence tools because a small sub-set of the team has an attachment to a particular system? The reluctance to say “No” kills efficiency and creates waste, yet managers go it daily.  

 

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