Page 144 - The Way to the Top

William T. MONAHAN

Chairman and CEO of Imation Corporation

Whether you run a small private business or a large corporation, the words
no and free impact success every day.

No is the best word in the business vocabulary. If you are not willing to

say no to bad business, no to poor deals, and no to poor returns in order to
focus on better opportunities, you cannot win. Your bandwidth will be
spread too thin, and losing or dying programs will take up more time and
assets than dynamic, developing opportunities. It is amazing how few
people can deliver a sustainable no and move on to successful

investments.

Free is the worst word in business. Free offers, free samples, free trials
—all have the value that the customer paid—zero. Huge amounts of
investment, resources, and assets are spent on items that offer a low value

for the customer. If you have value, charge for it. If the value can’t be sold,
you either have poor salespeople and approaches or you really don’t have
the value you think you have.

Remembering the meaning of these two words has proven accurate
every time they have helped drive value creation while eliminating the

influence of value destroyers like competitors, bad customers, and one-off
buyers.

The two most important words in business are no and free