I had a meeting in the city yesterday, right in the middle of the central business district in the boardroom of a major company I'm trying to win as a client. It's been a lengthy process and moves at glacial speed, although with these large multi-nationals that's how it is. I arrived in the city early knowing I'd need to find a park and make my way to the tower of steel and glass that is the company's State office and being late wasn't an option for me.
I arrived, checked in through security on ground level, made my way up to the dizzying heights of their offices at the top of the building and made myself known to the receptionist who indicated the people I was meeting with would not be long. I sat in the opulently-appointed waiting area and looked at my watch; I was five minutes early. Perfect.
Fifteen minutes later I was still waiting.
Twenty five minutes I was still waiting.
At forty five minutes after the meeting was initially set to begin someone came along and escorted me to the boardroom. Yes, I was annoyed, but in situations like that one needs to quell that feeling and move on unperturbed or the outcome is sure to be effected.
In my job function I have one main goal; drive revenue upward. There's many other things beneath that which help towards securing that goal of course and one of them is productivity which I'll break down into the smaller element of punctuality for the purpose of this post.
No matter the stage a deal may be at, being punctual is critical to its success. Being at the meeting on time, doing what one said one will do by the appointed deadline or time-parameters, even being at work on time all come into play and can help set one up for success. It's something I've always held in high importance, probably due to the fact my mother was perpetually late, and it's worked well for me. It's one of the most valuable tips I could offer to those looking to improve their productivity and overall effectiveness.
There's a few reasons I believe punctuality to be one of the core values a person can have professionally, and they translate to one's personal life also. But here's the list when applied to a professional environment:
Respect: Being punctual shows respect for clients, colleagues and others we deal with in business. I felt very irritated and unimportant due to the tardiness of those I was meeting yesterday; sure, they may have had their reasons, but that's not the point. Being punctual shows you care about and value others people's time and that will help build trust, promote a team-environment and will convey the message that deadlines can, and will, be met.
Professional and detail-oriented: Being prepared is my thing; Arriving ready to perform, controlling the room - seating positions, computers, data-projectors, my notes, refreshments, my professional and personal presentation and a myriad of other things all helps win business. Being punctual is critical to ensuring these things and more are arranged and under control. Busting through the boardroom doors a minute late, dishevelled and ill-prepared isn't a good thing.
Dependable: The ability to arrive on time, (on time means early) conveys dependability. The preparation as above, being a cool and collected person leaves people feeling like they are in good hands. People want to deal with winners, not the bumbling buffoon who is continually late and ill-prepared. Having a reputation of dependability can help make one the go-to-guy or girl and that's the person a winner wants to be.
Organised: Being organised leads to punctuality. This means, having a place for everything and everything in its place, be it a computer file or physical files. Being organised in my working life begins at home where I ensure things are wrapped up at the end of one day and set up for the next. I work from a home office and my corporate office and I apply the same principles to both. Being organised saves time, stress and forgetfulness, and mitigates risk. Systems and procedures are important in this process, as is discipline.
Reputation: I believe a person's professional reputation is incredibly important, and not just for others, but for the individual themselves. Building and maintaining a good reputation is amazing for confidence levels and that can pay dividends in moments when one has to do difficult things; present in a corporate boardroom, speak in front of large groups or socialise at events. Having a good reputation buys a lot of credit and having a bad one will most certainly place one on the back foot.
There are so many elements that need to come together in business and I believe punctuality is one of the most important.
I know we're in a society where it seems kind of cool to be easy-going and quirky which can make tardiness seem ok, but in my role, most business situations, its not ok to be late. Being punctual helps me drive revenue upwards and I believe the benefits of punctuality extends to one's personal life also. Being late to your first date with someone you really like and want to be with isn't likely to endear you to that person or move things forward well; a gentleman would be there early in fact, just to ensure he was there before the girl; it's called manners. Tardiness, especially continual tardiness, says a lot about a person and in my opinion it says nothing good.
I wonder what you folks feel about the subject of punctuality. Do you feel it's a valid thing to expect in business and do you think it helps place one in a better position overall or do you feel it is not important? Are you on time or late in your professional career or personal life and what effects does either have in both aspects of your life? Feel free to comment below.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default; tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind - galenkp
The image in this post is my own.
Being punctual is a virtue. I strongly believe that being punctual will lead someone to succeed.
For the List thet you have above, these are really things that reaaly matters in proessional environment. Thank you for sharing by the way :)
I agree with you on the importance of being punctual and believe it will help a person succeed in business and personal life.
I was late getting here to read this as @pooky-jax made me a toasted club sammich.
With Bacon.
Bacon means it is ok to be Tardy.
Bacon is a good excuse for everything.
I agree with everything you wrote.
For me, punctuality is essential, I've made it a habit of my life, I always tend to arrive five minutes early; this happens at work but also in all other fields.
I hate those who arrive late, obviously I can understand that in certain situations an unexpected event can happen, but I believe that that is an exception, the problem is that for many it is the rule and they don't realize how bad it is against them.
Furthermore, in my opinion, punctuality equals professionalism and precision and most of the time it goes well with open productivity.
There's sometimes extenuating circumstances involved and people are late; it happens. But for people who are continuously late there's no real excuse. Is it lack of preparation or care factor? Probably both.
I don't like lateness in any aspect of life whether work or personal and I think it can be avoided with some attention to details and responsibility.
Yes, I agree, as I see it, it is enough to be organized to be punctual and in the end it is very often a question of organization and planning ... those who have these qualities and use them habitually hardly arrive late.
Being punctual at everything speaks a lot of a person. I dont think I am respected if people lets me wait for a long time. I think i can wait until 30 minutes, but beyond that I will be furious!
I once had a girlfriend, who came for our date very late, like more than an hour. I was so dissappointed because of that. So, I left her for that.
I usually only wait 15 minutes for an appointment and if they are not there by then I leave. I didn't do that with this meeting though as it was difficult enough to get in the first place.
People are late sometimes, but these days, there's no excuse not to call and let others know about it. Still, many do it and seem to think it's ok. It's not ok with me though.
That 15 minutes is also the waiting time of students for their teachers to come or not for a class. But I usually arrive very early, and already at the door waiting for their other teacher to go out so I can take over. 😃😅
Smart thing to do. Be early I mean.
Professionalism matters, I always try to arrive early for appointments. However, sometimes people are late or slow, so I have to remind myself to be patient. Being professional means having control over everything, including your emotions. Your blue truck is nice, it reminds me of Optimus Prime. Hehe
Being patient is a good personality trait, and in business sometimes we need to be a little more patient than in personal life, especially when clients are involved. I was annoyed though, and feel it is very unprofessional to be unpunctual.
Yep, that's a nice truck for sure. We have some really nice ones in the fleet.
You are absolutely right, Sir. The five points that you have put forward are important things to pay attention to for success and professionalism.
Often people create something they want to improve, but they can't commit to consistently implementing it; sometimes they even make excuses for not being able to do it.
If all of that is fulfilled, then you are just waiting for success to come to you.
Very cool review.
I don't like excuses, I prefer solutions.
Thanks for your comment.
Did they even give you a reason why they were late for that long? Sounds like a pretty horrible customer and even if you get the contract, looks like they're going to treat you like crap. Better build in a few more margin points to cover the grief
There was a cursory, sorry, nothing more. It's best to pick ones battles though, and I don't take it personally. I'm not there to be friends, just to generate revenue. None of those people will be involved once trucks start rolling so they don't matter.
I respect time 🏆 and do my best to respect appointments and meetings. I am still wondering how a person can make you wait for 45 minutes without proper apologies and reasonings. I don’t think that’s fair. Situations arise and we have to manage emergencies as well but making others wait without proper heads up is not the quality you want to have even when it’s about growing revenue.
I was pretty annoyed as it meant I had to adjust the meeting content to suit a reduced time frame as I has another to go to. It threw out my morning, and I lost a lot of respect for the individuals. The receptionist was super apologetic and I appreciated that, but overall it was a pretty poor display.
A lot of these companies treat suppliers very badly and I'd rather not deal with them, but it's good for revenue. I understand that it's not personal which is how ai deal with it, and move forward, but as a human being and a professional I think it's very poor behaviour that speaks volumes about the quality (lack of it) of those who behave in this way. Also, people that do this sort of thing are almost always problem clients.
Yeah, it could be one individual ruining reputation for other as well. When you say ai, is that the AI or I misunderstood? :)
Sometimes I make typos, I am not perfect.
That's alright. I thought it was an Australian slang that I was not aware of :D
Nope, just a typo.
I noticed that as well...