It seems I’ve manage to sit down for the third week in a row to share some thoughts on running your business for greater success. Before I forget, there might not be a missive next week since I will be off on Cortes Island British Columbia at a gathering of interesting people from around the world. Cortes Island is only kind of on the grid so I have no idea if you’ll hear from me or not. I figured I should let you know in advance, just in case.
Which so nicely leads into something I’ve seen thinking about…doing what you say. Several weeks ago I was told by a long term member of a big organization that he had told the executive director that he needed to speak with me. There are some issues in the organization that this member knows I can help with. The Executive Director agreed and said he was looking forward to speaking with me.
I attempt to speak with the Executive Director. I call. I leave messages. I speak with his assistant who sets up times for us to talk. I tell the member all this and he calls, actually talks to the Executive Director (I have no idea how this happened), and then lets me know that I should try again.
I have several lovely chats with the assistant who sets up more times. She even calls and leaves me messages with new times. I feel bad for the poor assistant who undoubtedly has to do this all the time. But I continue to just talk to myself.
Yesterday I saw the member. He is all apologies. We discuss the situation…of course, it turns out that being unreliable is one of the problems. The conversation turns to what this says about the organization, how it will be perceived, what people say about the organization…and it’s Executive Director, and, whether people will want to work with the organization.
Someday perhaps I’ll talk to this fellow. Or perhaps not if he happens to see this and recognizes himself. But he did give me a great story. Perhaps there’s a message in here for you. This is just a story about setting up times for a phone call which isn’t too big a deal but think about other times you’ve said you’d do something…and haven’t followed through.
Have you ignored it as though you never said anything? Called or emailed to offer apologies and an explanation? Thought about the impact this had on your reputation?
And before I leave you, think about the reverse: the person who always follows through. You surely know someone like this. Think about what people say about them.
Which would you rather do business with…and which would you rather be?