QUOTATION 85

JOHN PIERPONT MORGAN ON WHY YOU SHOULD PROVIDE SOLUTIONS NOT PROBLEMS IN ANY REPORT

Use this to remind you that management want to know how to do things not reasons for why they can’t.

John Pierpont (J.P.) Morgan (1837–1913) was an American financier and banker who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation in the United States during the latter part of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth. Morgan did not build his vast financial empire by taking no for an answer, as the following quotation demonstrates:

I don’t want a lawyer to tell me what I can’t do. I hire people to tell me how to do what I want to do.

John Pierpont Morgan

WHAT TO DO

  • Always remember that organisations want managers who are problem solvers not problem creators.
  • As an accountant, I’ve long recognised that there are two types of accountants: those that tell you why you can’t do something and those that tell you how to do something. The same is true of most professions, including bankers and lawyers. When appointing staff or outside experts, pose them a business problem and ask them for their views on it. Say as little as possible beyond that. You would expect any good professional to list the difficulties that they see. However, the naysayers will spend a disproportionate amount of time outlining the problems compared to those who are more concerned with identifying a way forward. Appoint people from the latter group.

QUESTIONS TO ASK

  • Do I place obstacles in the way of people wanting to do something or do I help them get around problems?
  • Do my staff have a reputation for helping people resolve problems or for raising additional issues?
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