All Money Ain’t Good Money
Once I hit the age of about 12 or 13, Pops and I began to get close again by playing dominoes. It’s something we’d do after work. There were no strangers in my neighborhood as Pops was a popular and quite a likable fellow. We’d play with several of the older men around our area and when playing dominoes, there’s a bunch of old sayings that go with the game. “Nick ‘em, but don’t cut him”, “Threes please”, “Study long, study wrong”, and “all money, ain’t good money.” The last of which spoke more strategy than scoring and alluded to the fact that a particular play, while good in the short term, because you scored points. In the long term, strategically hurt yourself or your partner. Most of the time, the sayings meaning played out in the game without fail.
That particular saying holds true for me with recent events. One opportunity, which sounded great on the initial offer, after a bit of work, turned into something disastrous. The score, making money, happened, but it wasn’t good money. It was steeped in toxicity. From the chaos surrounding the work, the lack of a process for doing the work, the inability to communicate effectively, the timeliness of feedback, a nonexistent means of templates and their usage, and so many other things, that we paused the work about a month. I’d sent out a rather lengthy email stating my concerns and shortly afterwards, we paused the contract.
After a long conversation with the chief stakeholder, at his insistence, we were about to resume the contract. After careful contemplation and after noticing none of the issues mentioned in my email had been addressed, I chose to opt out permanently. All money ain’t good money and peace of mind and serenity demand a premium. I’m receiving neither in spades, so I’ve chosen to move away from short term satisfaction and work towards long term fulfillment.
Today, Friday, August 18, 2023, I am grateful that:
Sherman is insistent on implementing a system for moving forward. It’s what’s proven successful for him and he continues to push me in that direction. I told him a bit earlier what my priorities were, he agreed, and we moved on. It’s great when people know they have something that’s worked and they’re willing to share it with you.
After an abnormally long interview, I was able to make an offer. I’m not sure if the client will accept, but after a couple of days, I’ll rescind my offer. Not because I’m unwilling to do the contract, but rather, if you’re unwilling to make a timely decision, I believe, you’re not willing to do what’s needed to thrive in business.
I’ve got a free itinerary this weekend. My only task is to get more organized. I won’t be able to get everything in an ideal state, but I’ll be able to make progress. Today, I am willing to make small strides towards my objective rather than bold leaps before even starting. The shift in mindset is progress for me as well.
Are you willing to pass on some opportunities?
How do you align what gets you where you want to go with the opportunity itself?
What process do you use when evaluating opportunities?
When was the last time you updated or amended your process?
Would improvements are possib
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