This is an ongoing story of encounters between the King, everyone’s favorite owner; his architect, Slide Rule; and his contractor, Igor. Characters are inspired in part b y Gary Larson’s Far Side.
“I told them they’re making a mistake,” stated Slide Rule, 
owner of Building Blocks Inc., the No. 1 architect working on the castle grounds.
“How so?” asked the all-knowing King.
“I told them that they selected the wrong architect. I’m far better than the firm they selected, and on top of that, my price is competitive.”
The King, who was sitting back in his throne quite comfortably, said, “So, you’re telling me that you told your prospect that they made a bad decision?”
“Yup, that’s what I did and I’m happy I did it.”
“I would have never done that,” stated Igor, owner of Moat Designs Ltd., a general contractor.
“Good for you Igor,” said the King.
“Uh oh,” said Slide.
“Uh oh is right,” said the King. “You made a really big mistake.”
“But I didn’t get the job. I was a perfect fit for it, and I was trying to communicate to the owner that they’re going to have a problem. I could have saved them a lot of money.”
The King got up from his throne. “Let’s take a walk and talk this out.”
The two fell in step with the King, with Igor making smirky faces at Slide Rule.
“Don’t worry,” said the King. “Even though you made the mistake, it’s okay. It’s one of the most common mistakes made by managers.”
“How so?” asked Slide.
“Never, ever say anything bad about a prospect, or a competitor for that matter, as it will come back to haunt you. It’s the worse thing you can do.”
“Why not? I’ve lost them.”
“But there is always the future. Expressing sour grapes might make you feel better, but it harms your reputation.”
“I had sour grapes for dinner last night. I feel quite alright,” said Slide.
“Slide, you’re an idiot. Let’s review what sour grapes actually means. The expression alludes to the Greek writer Aesop’s famous fable about a fox that cannot reach some grapes on a high vine and announces that they are sour.”
“If I may, your Majesty, I think you have been enjoying a little bit too much wine,” stated Igor.
The King gives Igor the look and continues on, never missing a beat. “Sour grapes is an expression of the loser’s scorn for something that didn’t go their way. By expressing sour grapes you are insulting them and that means you’re only damaging yourself in the long run.”
“If I insulted them, then I’m truly happy,” said Slide Rule.
“You’re missing the point. By expressing sour grapes, you hurt yourself more then any feelings you could hurt of your intended target.”
“How so?” asked Igor as they exited the castle and walked toward the moat bridge in the brilliant sunlight.
“It’s easy. It means that if you say something bad about someone else, they’re going to wonder, if I get into a relationship with them, and something goes wrong, then they’re going to be saying bad things about me. Then they make a conclusion that the last thing I need is a company promoting disrespect about me or my company. That isn’t the company I want to work with, let alone be tied in someway financially.”
“Wow, all of that? I hadn’t thought about it that way,” responded Slide, who was now sulking in his misery.
“So, if I may say, your Majesty, what Slide has done is actually hurt the image of his company, and his brand, if you will, with his disparaging remarks. Should he apologize?”
“Yes. But you have to be careful because it can actually get worse. Did you speak to him in front of anyone?”
“Why yes, some of my employees were there, as well as some of his employees.”
“Now, you’re in real trouble,” stated Igor.
They arrived at the moat and walked out and stood in the middle of the bridge. “Your employees are now repeating what you said, and to make it even more complicated, your prospect’s employees are doing the same thing about you.”
“What should I do now?”
“It’s like this moat. The water doesn’t move.
It just sits here. What you have created is a stream which branches off to other streams. It just keeps going and going. You need to get a meeting with the prospect, and make an offer to help him in some way. You must tell him that you value his business, and even though it didn’t work out this time, you would like to continue to develop the relationship.”
“What you’re saying is I need to build a dam.”
“Now you understand. All business must build dams from time-to-time. This is your time.”
With the exception of an occasional guest appearance by the author, any similarity to actual events or people living or dead is purely coincidental.
Ronald A. McKenzie is director of business development for ARCON Associates Inc., a Chicago-area full-service architectural firm. He has made nationwide presentations about the subject of thought leadership relative to strategic planning.