The First Time I Felt Like a Leader — One Hundred Dollars I Ever Saw

Everybody Has A First · Chapter 10

Sometimes the smallest decisions produce the biggest consequences.

I’ve learned that lesson many times during more than 50 years in the electrical contracting business, but one particular experience has stayed with me because of how simple it was. It wasn’t about losing thousands of dollars. It wasn’t about a major estimating mistake or a failed project.

It was about one hundred dollars.

For years, our company performed nearly all of the electrical work for a particular general contractor. We had a great relationship. They trusted us, and we trusted them. Whenever they had a project, we expected to receive an invitation to bid.

Relationships like that don’t happen overnight. They are built through years of doing what you say you’re going to do, showing up when you say you’ll show up, and taking care of problems when they arise.

The Phone Call Before Bid Day

Then one day, another contractor invited us to bid on a unique industrial project at a steel mill.

This wasn’t an ordinary estimate. It required multiple site visits, careful planning, and detailed discussions. We invested a tremendous amount of time understanding exactly what the owner wanted before we finally submitted our price.

We weren’t just throwing a number together. We were doing real Electrical Estimating based on information we had gathered firsthand.

A few hours before bids were due, the general contractor we normally worked for called.

“We’ve decided to bid that project.”

Then they asked me a question.

“Can you give us your MEP numbers?”

They hadn’t attended the site meetings. They hadn’t invested the time we had. Without our numbers, however, they couldn’t submit a competitive proposal.

We wanted to help a longtime customer, so we shared the information. They won the project.

At the time, I didn’t think much more about it. Business continued as usual, and I assumed the relationship would continue just as it had before.

A few days later, the owner of that general contracting company stopped by our office. He and our owner, Charles, had been friends for years. After a few minutes of casual conversation, he smiled and said, “I came by to pick up my one hundred dollars.”

Charles looked puzzled. “What one hundred dollars?”

The contractor explained that our plumbing manager had supposedly promised him one hundred dollars if they used our numbers on the steel mill project.

I happened to know that wasn’t true. Nobody had promised him one hundred dollars. Our plumbing manager hadn’t even spoken to him. He had simply provided the pricing we had already developed for the other contractor.

Charles didn’t argue. He smiled and said, “I’ve got to run get a haircut. Stop back by tomorrow and we’ll straighten it out.” The truth was, Charles didn’t need a haircut. He needed the facts.

Find the Truth Before You React

After the visitor left, Charles immediately started asking questions. He spoke with the plumbing manager.

“Did you promise him one hundred dollars?”

The answer was exactly what I expected. “No. I never said anything about paying him. I simply gave Steve’s pricing that we had already prepared.”

Charles nodded. That’s all he needed to hear.

He didn’t jump to conclusions. He didn’t make a decision while he was angry. He found out what actually happened first.

I’ve learned that this is one of the most important habits any business owner, Electrical Contractor, project manager, or estimator can develop: find the facts before you react.

The Most Expensive Decision

The next day, the contractor returned. “You got my money?”

Charles answered calmly. “No. We never promised you one hundred dollars. And I’m not paying something we don’t owe.”

That was the end of the conversation. At least, that’s what we thought.

The contractor left. And we never received another invitation to bid from them.

Think about that. A relationship that had generated millions of dollars’ worth of work over many years ended over one hundred dollars.

Now, let me be perfectly clear. This chapter isn’t about whether Charles should have paid the money. Personally, I think he made the right decision. If you start paying people for promises that were never made, where does it stop?

The lesson is much bigger than that.

Pride Can Be Expensive

Business is built on relationships. Relationships require trust. Trust requires communication.

Sometimes both parties become so focused on being right that they forget what’s really at stake.

I’ve seen companies lose customers over issues far smaller than the value of the relationship. I’ve also seen people swallow their pride, have an honest conversation, and preserve a partnership that lasted another twenty years.

Every disagreement deserves perspective.

I’ve learned to ask myself a simple question: What is this relationship actually worth?

That doesn’t mean compromising my integrity. It means understanding the difference between protecting my principles and allowing my pride to make a business decision for me. There is a big difference.

Every Decision Has a Price

One lesson business has taught me is that every decision has a cost. Sometimes it’s measured in dollars. Sometimes it’s measured in opportunities. Sometimes it’s measured in relationships.

The difficult part is that you don’t always know the true cost until years later.

Whether I’m dealing with an Electrical Estimating issue, a customer disagreement, a Bid Day problem, or a business decision, I try to think about what happens next.

What does this decision do to the relationship? What does it do to my reputation? What does it teach the people working with me? And, perhaps most importantly, would I make the same decision if I had to live with the consequences for the next twenty years?

Looking back, I still think Charles made the correct decision. But I’ve never forgotten how expensive one hundred dollars became. It was one of the most valuable business lessons I ever witnessed.

What I Learned

Not every decision should be measured by the amount of money involved.

Sometimes the smallest disagreements reveal much larger issues.

I learned to protect my integrity, keep my word, and tell the truth. At the same time, I learned not to lose sight of the long-term value of a good relationship.

I’ve carried many of these lessons into my work with electrical contractors and into the philosophy behind Best Bid Electrical Estimating Software.

Good estimating isn’t only about getting a number on paper. It’s about creating reliable systems, making sound decisions, and understanding the consequences of the numbers we put in front of customers.

The Electrical Estimating Online School is another resource I recommend for contractors and estimators who want to strengthen their skills.

I also come back to the ideas in The Art of Balance in Electrical Estimating when thinking about the bigger picture behind estimating decisions.

My Best Bid Rules

✓ Never make decisions without knowing the facts.

✓ Protect your integrity above your profit.

✓ Value relationships — but never compromise your honesty.

✓ Ask what the long-term cost might be.

✓ Don’t allow pride to make business decisions for you.

✓ Remember that today’s small decision can become tomorrow’s big consequence.