“Speak when you are angry–and you will make the best speech you’ll ever regret.” Laurence J. Peter
Unfortunately, I learned this lesson the hard way early in my career. I wanted to impress my boss and the other partners of the firm, so I worked hard to conceive, and to sell, a large consulting project with a blue-chip organization. I was so proud of what I had accomplished. I got a call from a senior partner, the partner who was in charge of this particular industry sector. He congratulated me on my fine work and then he told me that in order to deliver the best effort to the client, a senior partner should now take charge of the project. I could still be a part of it, but lead it. I was furious. How could he! I did all the work and now someone else would get to lead the project—how can this be! To make a long, and painful story short, I allowed myself to get hijacked by my ego and I said some things that I would truly regret. The bottom line was, what I had said, in that moment of anger, told these senior partners everything they needed to know about me—I wasn’t a team player. Fortunately, I learned my lesson and now look back on my behavior as coming from someone I don’t recognize. Unfortunately, I would have to apply what I’d learned at another firm. Don’t allow yourself to be hijacked by anger. Ask for a break in the meeting or call. Do whatever you need to do to get time to gather your thoughts and stop yourself from making a serious career-limiting mistake like I did.
Till next time…
