My new favorite blogger, Tony Schwartz, has done it again. His blog “The Art of Letting Go” is a great piece for that sale, that venture, that relationship that you just can’t give up on. It reminds me of that classic greeting card a friend once sent me:
They said it couldn’t be done…. How did they know?
Tony talks about how tough it is to go against the grain, how we are predisposed to fight the good fight, persevere against all odds. The fact that this perseverance does exact an emotional toll.
I recall many instances in my sales career where the handwriting was Sharpied indelibly on the wall. Without question the deal was dead, but we spent additional time, energy and effort to change the mind of someone who’s mind was already made up. This is a chronic entrperneurial disease. It is hard to walk away when you are small, trying to rapidly make the Big Time.
Tony ends the piece with a simple set of four questions:
1. Do I have a feeling in my gut that this dog just won’t hunt?
2. How important will this seem to me in six months?
3. How important will this seem to me in two years?
4. Is there a more enjoyable and productive way I could be investing my time and energy right now?If the answer to 1 and 4 are “yes,” or the answers to 2 and 3 are “not much,” it’s time to let go.
Which brings to mind the timeless wisdom of Kenny Rogers….
“You gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, know when to run”
OK, that was way too obvious.
I have a better quote… Here’s where the connection was made and the fuse blew, and I started writing…
The phrase that came like a bolt out of the blue into my consciousness came from Sunday’s episode of “Mad Men”, when Don Draper (Jon Hamm) asked Lane Pryce (Jared Harris) to resign after he was caught embezzling. I so wanted to get this right, I actually paid and downloaded the episode from iTunes to transcribe it accurately. Lane sobbed “What do I tell my wife? What do I tell my son?”…
Don Draper’s words are all the more riveting, considering how the episode played out:
“Tell them that it didn’t work out, because it didn’t
Tell them the next thing will be better, because it always is …
I’ve started over a lot, Lane. This is the worst part.”
– RTR
Real Time Rick 
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