Christopher V. Flett

One of my favourite quotations is: “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog.” I was sharing a story with a friend over lunch this week about my time as a bouncer. I had moved to Northern BC to work in a pulp mill as a first aid attendant. As luck would have it, the mill went on strike the day I arrived so I scrambled for a job. I found one the next day at the Cadillac Ranch, a biker bar near the city centre. They told me I needed to wear cowboy boots, a stetson hat, and a white shirt. They told me that they would start me off at $25.00 an hour. HOLY SHIT! I thought, that was $3 bucks more than I was going to make at the mill. Obviously things turned out in my favour, or so I thought. That night, about 30 minutes after I started, the cooler (head doorman) got stabbed in the thigh. What I didn’t realize was my first night of work we both payday for all the logging camps and also happened to be a night when a Tyson fight was on. The worst night to be a bouncer is on a fight night. Every jack ass who watches the fight and drinks a case of beer magically becomes a boxer and heads out to a night club to test his metal.

That night I worked four hours, got in 7 fights, and spent three hours in the hospital at the end of my shift getting my gums sewn up and my knuckles set (broke knuckles in both fists).  For the next two weeks I thought I needed to be the toughest guy in the bar. I would stand mano a mano with these crazy loggers and get my ass handed to me. I remember kicking a guy in the head, him laughing, pulling me outside, and kicking the shit out of me. Nice way to make a living.

It too me a month to realize that I didn’t need to be the toughest (wasn’t going to happen anyway). Instead I needed to be the quickest. My new strategy was to invite guys outside for a little chat and as soon as they walk out the door, sucker punch them. This didn’t work every time, but my winning average definitely increased. I learned a lot of lessons both wresting on the floor of that bar and nursing my wounds in the hospital after most of my shifts. If you try to be big against those bigger, you will always lose. If you can be quicker or more cunning, you’ll win most bouts.

In a good economy, big business can eat everyone’s lunch because they have lots of labour, lots of money, and lots of clients. A 400 person company can destroy a 2 person company by sheer access to assets. But…when things go sideways, the little guy can start to eat up market share because he/she can move quickly, grab things the big guys take to long to do, and in some cases, get a contract and sub it out to a big guy because they are looking for work to keep their staff busy. Now is the time for little guys to get bigger, while the big guys are withering away. But it takes a plan. Plan = cunning. My plan as a bouncer was to drill my opponent before both feet hit the sidewalk, his strategy was to come out, give me a lickin and leave me there. I thought ahead, thus I ended up ahead. Same goes for a small company. You have all the advantages if you take them. What you have going for you is:

1. Small(er) overhead
2. Can move quickly
3. Can seize opportunities without having to go up the chain of command
4. Can customize offering within the meeting
5. Don’t have to worry about stepping on the toes of other people in the company
6. Are not making decisions based on payroll of 1,000 people
7. You can change your business model tomorrow with little effort. Imagine Starbucks abandoning coffee and going into Root Beer.
8. You can hire people, laid off by the big guys, as contractors for your company. You get their experience and expertise, you only pay them when you need them, and they are used to working as employees so they are cheaper then hiring other companies.

You need to be strategic right now. If you hear a company is doing layoffs, look to meet the people getting layed off and find out who the company’s clients are. Start a conversation with those new targets and look to see if you can grab some work away. When the target says, “we are really happy with Company X“, you say, “if you should feel any dip in service because they are laying off 500 people, give us a call. We intend to hire about of the talent they are laying off.”

Fist fighting is like business during a recession. There are no rules. There isn’t any playing fair. These big companies will roll over you in strong markets. It is up to you to take advantage of the situation and grab yourself some free business. They are battening down the hatches; you are putting the sales up and sailing into the storm. For professional women, this can be hard. Going on the offensive can feel weird. Get past this. It is your time to shine. If you need inspiration, watch Elizabeth – The Golden Age. There is a part when Queen Elizabeth is dealing with the Spanish minister who is telling her to bow to them, or he is going to kick the shit out of England. It’s one of my favourite movie scenes of all time.

Queen Elizabeth I: Go back to your rathole! Tell Philip I fear neither him, nor his priests, nor his armies. Tell him if he wants to shake his little fist at us, we’re ready to give him such a bite he’ll wish he’d kept his hands in his pockets!

Spanish Minister: You see a leaf fall, and you think you know which way the wind blows. Well, there is a wind coming, Madame, that will sweep away your pride. [turns to leave with his ministers]

Queen Elizabeth I: I, too, can command the wind, sir! I have a hurricane in me that will strip Spain bare when you dare to try me!

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We are looking at years of challenging markets before everyone gets fat in business again. Now is the time for you to mark your territory, take from those who are playing defensive and get assertive. Dire Straights said it best, “sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug.” Which will you be?