“You want to put the price…UP!”
Jim’s voice rose as the shock of what I was proposing sunk in.
The two regional managers looked away. Others shifted in their seats.
In 2001, I was general manager of a chain of motorway service-area accessory shops. One Nokia charger dominated sales, and I wanted to raise the price.
My rationale was simple.
We were the only shop within miles selling a product that most customers bought because they needed it. This wasn’t an impulse or luxury purchase — it was a necessity. I was trying to apply the simple logic of supply and demand.
But Jim wasn’t having it, so I rolled over.
“Let’s do some research and revisit the decision at the next meeting,” I suggested.
Jim nodded his head in agreement.
I didn’t realise it in that room, but that nod cost us £28,000 — not because the price change was wrong, but because it was easy to reverse and we treated it like it wasn’t.
Most of us do this every week. We drag out decisions that are safe to test and give us intelligent feedback.
Years after that meeting, I still look back at it with frustration.
The decision to change the price could have been reversed.
It didn’t need to be permanent. We could have run a test for a week. A simple check would have given us the average sales by item and value, allowing us to set a baseline.
Then we would have a comparison.
Real-life data that would have shown whether sales declined or grew.
Instead, I spent a month trying to justify the price increase with Jim. I was more worried about keeping the peace than making a quick decision.
Eventually, he agreed to the change.
We still sold the same number of car chargers, but the revenue went up by 50%. And I paid for it twice: in profit, and in a month of needless friction
I didn’t have the language for it then, but I was treating a reversible decision as if it were irreversible. Here’s the distinction I wish I’d had back then: some decisions are doors. Others are just curtains.
When it can’t, the decision you make should be made with care and thought. Taking your time to consider the implications is vital to ensuring you make the right call, as there is no going back.
But a reversible decision can — and should be made with speed. The consequences are so low that it can’t hurt to make it. As soon as it is made, you get feedback informing whether it can stay as it is, or needs to be changed back.
The pricing argument I had with Jim was very much a reversible decision.
Your task this week is to pause and ask yourself two questions:
Use the following reversibility consequences matrix to decide how to decide.
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Remember:
Speed for reversible. Care for irreversible.
