***Reposted from my previous blog in 2016***
Have you ever gone into your local favorite fast food chain knowing that you are going to be let down? Does it ever eat at you when you look at the food list and see a beautiful image of a double cheeseburger stacked high with fresh meat, and veggies on a fluffy bun only to get a smashed stale and soggy mess? The billboard promises you a delicious image of perfection but vastly underperforms in the delivery of reality.
Now, take this same thought process into corporate America where your department or division is being asked to deliver upon promises which may cost millions to billions of dollars. Do you promise a specific timeline/product/cost without taking the time to evaluate the possibilities only to come in late or with a sub-par product or highly inflated final cost? Any time that you make promises only to draw up short on the expectation you tarnish you and your team’s name as well as break the bonds of trust between yourself and your business partners.
I have worked with Directors who had instructed me to never say “No” to any work. Their mindsets were that saying “No” showed weakness to a capability we may not be able to support, so just say “Yes” to everything. One of my earliest managers had the opposite leadership style and had a poster on the wall outside her office that stated her stance. The poster said, “Many times you have to say “No” today for a bigger “Yes” tomorrow.”
It is better to make sound decisions and commitments knowing that you are going to provide a valid on on-time product at a reasonable cost than over-promising and under-delivering. Here are a few items that will help you with reducing the chances of falling into the under-delivering pitfall.
- Keep an up-to-date calendar – With today’s technology, having an up-to-date synced calendar should not be a far-fetched idea. Whether you are using a tool such as Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook you should be able to make sound decisions on time frames necessary to perform a task. These electronic calendars sync with your desktops, tablets, and cellular devices to provide you with on-the-go updates. If you do not feel technologically savvy then purchase a paperback planner such as one from Franklin Covey.
- Make team decisions – Often requests for work will come when you are in a one-off meeting with a business partner. You always want to ensure that you can set up a separate meeting to include all the impacted parties. Unless you are the only person that will be doing the work and you are working in a vacuum, it is most likely that there will be other impacted persons. Be sure to gather impacts from all other parties when taking in new work to reduce the chances of further issues arising later. Finally, take the time to receive input from your team which will be performing the work. This will help you with providing a more accurate statement of work to your business partners.
- Don’t be afraid to say no – As I stated earlier, it is better to say no to some items of work rather than drawing up short later and having to explain that you over-committed. Using the word “No” at the appropriate time will help you gain respect from your colleagues because they will know that when you say “Yes” it is more likely to be because you are definite of your commitment.
I hope this helps some of you to make less “Shooting from the hip commitments” and pushes you more into the direction of “Well-planned commitments.” Good luck with not over-promising and under-delivering!
Resources
You can find some helpful resources from Franklin Covey here!
