Your Values aren't a Handicap in Business, They're a Filter

I've just read this incredible piece on how your values support trust in a profound way...enjoy!

I once walked out of a room and left a million pounds behind...

by Simon Squibb

All because of a single bottle of Jack Daniel's.

We were building Fluid at the time, the creative agency me and my wife had started from scratch in Hong Kong. At this point we were deep in Asia, growing fast, fighting for every major client we could land. This particular deal would have been the biggest in our history. $1,000,000. A life changing amount. The kind of contract that would change our business overnight.

I’d been speaking with the potential client for months, and here I was sat across from him. Everything was lining up. He was happy, and so was I. We were about to sign. This was it.

But then the founder pulled out a bottle of whisky and set it on the table.

He wanted to toast to the partnership.

I don't drink. I never have. Not at my wedding, not once in my 51 years of life. I hesitated. This was a huge deal and myself and the team had worked for months to get it over the line. But I said no. I couldn’t do it. You see. I have an addictive personality. I always have. When I get into something, I can't stop. It's the same thing that made me an entrepreneur. Total obsession, all-in, every time. I’d also watched people around me get destroyed by that same wiring pointed at the wrong thing.

So when I was young I made a decision. I'd never drink. Not even a sip. Because I knew what I was. The only safe line is the one you draw before anyone offers you a drink.

But he didn’t see that. And he was offended. The meeting ended and the deal died on the spot. I drove home with nothing.

For months I picked at it. It sounds almost laughable, looking back, a glass of whisky, a million pounds. I could have sipped it. I could have held the glass and never let it touch my lips. I could have found a dozen ways to blur the line just enough to save the deal.

But I didn't and it was something I had to live with.

About a year later I was sitting across from a billionaire. It was a different industry, but the situation was the same. Another massive deal. Almost closed. Until he offered me a drink.

I said no. Same as before, no explanation beyond the truth: I just don't drink.

He smiled and we closed the deal.

Afterwards he told me that the moment I refused without apology or backpedaling was when he decided he could trust me.

And that’s when I realized.

The wrong people punish you for your principles. But the right people choose you because of them.

I've started calling this the Principle Premium:

The idea that your values aren't a handicap in business, they're a filter. Every time you hold your line you lose some people. But the ones who stay are your people. The deals built on something real, not just on whatever you were willing to do to close.

Most people figure out their non-negotiables in the room and that's a big problem. When a million pounds is sitting in front of you and someone is watching how you react, the moment is too loud. You'll talk yourself into it. You need to have already decided.

Write them down now. The things you won't do regardless of what the deal looks like.

And when the moment comes you’re asked to compromise on them, don't apologize. You don't need to make a speech about it. Just be clear. The people worth working with will respect it. The ones who don't are telling you something useful.

Every time you hold your line you build something that can't be bought back once it's gone.

Don't let a deal/ marketing make you forget that.

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Your Values aren't a Handicap in Business, They're a Filter