‘Framed’ by Time Frame
Welcome to the twenty-sixth edition of “In Touch.” As always, I would love to continue the conversation so please hit “reply” and let me know what you think.
Story of the Week: ‘Framed’ by Time Frame
Disappointment 1 (Time frame: one day)
I was enjoying my afternoon coffee when a young man who works for my Internet Service Provider politely approached and asked for my business card, saying that he wanted to suggest to his manager that we might run some workshops together. His whole demeanour made me feel comfortable enough to ask him if he could help solve a minor problem I was experiencing with my connection. He promised to call me about it the next day. He never did.
Disappointment 2 (Time frame: one week)
With winter fast approaching, I decided to get some cold weather wear for my dog. The woman in the store was wonderful, treating both me and the dog with the utmost respect. Her customer service was second to none. I bought my dog a coat but I also needed to buy a wool sweater, which was out of stock. The saleswoman noted my phone number and promised to call me in a week’s time, when a new consignment would be in. Six weeks later, I had still received no news from her.
Disappointment 3 (Time frame: one month)
In early September 2014, I was thrilled to be approached by the Greek subsidiary of a well-known German pharmaceutical company, which wanted me to run a leadership course for its Management Team. It took me almost a week just to draft the proposal. I gave it my everything and I was promised a response in the second half of October. Nothing arrived. Seven years later (!) in early December 2021, I received a personal message from the company’s former Head of Human Resources, who was now pursuing a solo career in coaching and development and wanted to pick my brains. We arranged a time to talk and I was happy to help her out. At the end of the call, I asked what had actually happened all those years ago. Where did I ‘slip-up’? Her answer was, “Oh, I thought that the General Manager had informed you.”
The extent to which we honour our commitments to others is directly linked to the level of our success. The rules are simple: Never promise something and then fail to deliver on it. In the first two examples above, people did not deliver on their promises. In the third example, the woman in question simply shifted the blame to someone else.
Our ability to keep our word impacts our credibility and trustworthiness, affecting the way other people see us. Perhaps most importantly of all, honouring our word should be essential for our own peace of mind. Trust is priceless. Make sure you don’t lose it so easily.
Words of Wisdom
On making it a habit to think hard before promising anything:
“Those that are most slow in making a promise are the most faithful in the performance of it.”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
When you promise something you need to commit to it:
“A gentleman makes commitments. A loser makes promises.”
Unknown
A Question to Ponder, dear friend.
“Have you ever had someone making you a promise to deliver something and they didn’t? How did it feel?”
Hit reply and let me know.
Announcements
- The new date for our webinar “From Adaptation to Transformation. How to unlock your managers’ full potential.” is January 20th at 11am EEST. We had to postpone due to being tested positive with the virus that has changed all our lives. If you haven’t registered, feel free to register here.
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Best Regards,
Michael R. Virardi
