June 16, 2026

Business by the Book

Psalm 62:4  They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly.

Not everyone means what they say. I once oversaw a very large contract with a group purchasing organization (GPO) that was based in Chicago. It was my account; I had made the first cold call on the account, cultivated it into a prospect, carried out the product testing, waded through the intricate proposal process, negotiated the final agreement, and managed the account for several years. The vice president of material management for this customer left to take a more senior position at another GPO and was replaced by a person that I knew years earlier when I was a local salesperson and he was the manager of an account in my territory. I knew a lot about him, his character, his inclinations, his past work record and the way he liked to be entertained.

Upon receiving word that this man was now vice president of my account in Chicago I scheduled an appointment. The appointment went very well, we pledged a mutual commitment to grow sales of our product through our contract, planned several action steps for marketing the contract to their member facilities, and even scheduled another meeting for the next month. Nothing was said of our relationship years earlier.

The day after this meeting I received a message to call my boss. He was a senior manager in our company and he said he needed to talk to me about something. Upon calling him I learned that the new vice president of our customer in Chicago had called him and said that he wanted another manger to work with instead of me. He actually told my boss that he did not trust me because I didn’t drink alcohol, among other things. I was not surprised and put up no argument, the change was made and for a while things were fine. In reality, I knew too much about him for his own comfort.

In our meeting he had indicated total support, but as soon as he could, he did what he could to eliminate my involvement with his organization. It didn’t really bother me, for I knew him, and knew what would happen, and it did.

Learn who you can trust to tell you the truth. For many people will praise you with one breath and curse you with the other. Not everyone means what they say.

Dr. William Howe