Most of the time doing the right thing is good business. But sometimes doing the right thing hurts. On this week’s Billboard Insider podcast Justin Powell shared a situation where he did the right thing even though it cost.
I knocked on the door of a business. It was a large business but it was a franchise. I am 21…I find the owner and he looks at me and goes “yes, I’ll rent your sign.” And I was absolutely elated…And he looks at me and says “bring me back a contract a week from today. But Justin, it needs to be for twice the amount of what you’re going to charge.” I had zero idea what was happening. I called Tom Giesken of Giesken Outdoor…He goes “Justin, that’s easy. He gets 50% back from his franchise. He wants the franchise to cover the whole thing. You don’t want to do that. That’s dishonest. That’s not right. They’re trying to cheat their franchise…” So I went back and I looked the guy in the eye and said here’s my contract…but I’m only going to bill you for the amount that I’m charging you. And he said well, I’m not going to do it then and walked out…It was a good lesson…It was a hallmark moment in my life. How are you going to do business. And if you can make this decision now you’re going to make it for the rest of your life. I walked away.
Billboard Insider’s take: There’s a happy ending to this story. The next day Justin Powell found a small restaurant that wanted the sign and ended up staying on the sign for 8 years. Kudos to Justin, however, for doing the right thing when he thought it would cost. Justin asked for advice from someone he could trust in the out of home business. Who are your trusted advisors? A company board? A spouse? A mentor? An experienced out of home exec? A Bible Study group? All good options for keeping you accountable for doing the right thing.
Who are your advisors? Take our poll. We’ll publish the results on Monday.
Have a comment on this topic. Email davewestburg@billboardinsider.com or use the form below.
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