The career advice in this tweet is a no brainer. Yet I’m constantly surprised by how many people miss deadlines and don’t keep commitments – and never bother to mention it. Almost all of the work that you do has an impact on other people. Your output is often the input they need to get their work done.
You can build your career success simply by doing what you say you’ll do. I have found that this bit of career advice is overlooked way too often. Too many people feel comfortable missing deadlines. Worse yet, they don’t even mention that they’ll be late to people who are waiting for their work.
I’m a big believer in taking personal responsibility for your life and career success. I always tell my career success coach clients that saying, “I’m late on my project because Joe – or Sue – didn’t get me the information I needed” doesn’t cut it. I tell them to seek out the information they need and get it so they can finish their project on time.
On the other hand, I tell them that they have a responsibility to Joe or Sue or anybody who is waiting for their work to get it to them on time. And if they are going to miss a deadline, let Joe or Sue know as soon as possible so they can adjust their work planning. This is not only common courtesy, it’s good business and career success advice.
When you meet your commitments consistently – or let others know when you are going to be unable to do so – you gain a reputation as someone who can be trusted. And as I’ve mentioned in a previous post, trust is the glue that binds relationships.
I have built my consulting and career success coach business by doing what I say I’ll do. I try to go beyond what I promise, to over-deliver. In this way, I have built some client relationships that have exceeded 20 years. These people hire me again and again. And they refer me to their friends and colleagues – all because I do what I say I’ll do.
I once flew all night from Seattle to Detroit to do a workshop. I made a wrong notation in my calendar and ended up having to be in Seattle until 6:00 one day, and in Detroit to do a workshop at 10:00 the next day. When I told one of my friends about the problem I had created for myself, he suggested I cancel one of the engagements. I couldn’t do that; both were part of larger programs that had been scheduled months in advance by my clients. I couldn’t let them down. A little lost sleep was a small price to pay for keeping my reputation as a guy who keeps his commitments intact.
This blog demonstrates my commitment to keeping my commitments. Twenty-seven weeks and four days ago I wrote the first post in this series. In that post, I said that I would write a series of posts that further explain the ideas in each tweet in Success Tweets. I committed to writing five posts a week. I’ve done that. Next Monday, I will post about Success Tweet 141. I’ve posted every day, Monday through Friday, for 28 weeks. I’ve posted when I’ve been working from my home office, when I’ve been traveling for business, and when I’ve been on vacation. I did this because I committed to doing it – to myself, and to readers of this blog. I take the career advice in Success Tweet 139 seriously. I suggest that you do too.
Finally, the subtitle of Success Tweets is 140 bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice, All in 140 Characters or Less. If you’ve downloaded the book, you’ve probably noticed that it has 141 tweets. I did this on purpose — to over-deliver on the promise I make on the front cover. This is a small, silly even, example of how I go out of my way to make sure that people see me as someone who keeps his commitments. What are some of the small things you do to demonstrate that you are someone who keeps commitments and can be trusted?
The common sense career success coach point here is simple. If you want to become a life and career success you have to build a reputation as someone who can be trusted. Follow the career advice in Tweet 139 in Success Tweets. “Become widely trusted. Deliver on what you say you’ll do. If you can’t meet a commitment, let the other person know right away.” I’ve built a thriving business by following this career advice. And you can create the life and career success you want by following it. I think it goes without saying that while it is important to let other people know when you will be missing a deadline or can’t keep a commitment, it is more important to do whatever you must do to make deadlines and keep your commitments. This can inconvenience you at times, but it is great career advice that will pay off in the long run.
Speak Your Mind