I am a buyer for a high-end online boutique. We have a very niche aesthetic that has come to define our brand, and we work hard to maintain a high standard of product. Unfortunately, the business has seen some change at director level, and I'm being urged by the new directors to buy product that goes against our core values and brand image. I've worked hard to create this image and diluting it could be disastrous for the business. Should I leave or should I compromise my principles?
I think there are bigger issues at stake here because it sounds to me as if there could well be a change in strategy. If that's the case, it might just be that the job requirements have changed. That would leave you with two choices: if you don't like the strategy or it takes you in a direction you feel so strongly about that you don't want to go along with it, then you're going to have to consider whether you want to carry on with the job. But if your job is to promote the business and you don't have ethical concerns, there's no reason for you to leave, because your job is to do whatever your company needs you to do.
If there hasn't been a change in strategy, it might just be that the new personnel at the top don't understand the impact of the things that they're doing. It's your job to sit down and say, "OK, this is the original strategy, these are the parameters that sat around it, and here are the consequences of doing the things you've asked me to do.
I think it's essential everybody understands the market and what the strategy is. In an organisation a team of people can't possible achieve what they want to if they're all trying to achieve different things. That's why a brand bible is so important.
Deborah Meaden is author of Common Sense Rules (Random House, £7.99). Read more advice from Deborah Meaden.
Have you got a question for Deborah Meaden? Share it with us in the comments box below.
blog comments powered by
