Keep Your Agreement

. . . do what you say you will do and re-negotiate when you can't

When my son was fifteen and getting ready for his first job interview, I advised him to say he knew the most important rule of success: Go an extra mile. Then I asked him, "If you say that, what do you have to do?" He replied, "I have to come through with my commitment." In the end he decided not to say it - probably because of embarrassment - but I think he still understands the rewards.

As a businessman, I discovered early on that the majority of people break agreements often enough to condemn themselves to mediocrity. Many feel that seemingly small agreements can be broken because they're unimportant. They believe that being late for a meeting won't hurt anyone or that a client won't really mind if a call isn't returned exactly when promised or that a project may be late but it won't ambush anyone else's plans. They say to themselves that the consequences will be small and they can handle them.

The consequence of breaking agreements is usually loss of trust and respect and opportunity. Each of these losses writes the label of mediocrity larger and larger.

Co-workers and peers may say, "He's a pretty good worker" or "She does a good enough job" or "He's usually on time" or "She always gets the job done - not always on time, but so what?" Many might perceive these statements as nice compliments, but consider the difference between "He does a good enough job" and "Her work is exceptional." Do you want to be "good enough," or do you want to be "exceptional"?

Most of us want to stand out and to be considered successful. Many people are good workers. Many do their jobs and will be employed. But despite the desire of many to stand out, few people excel in their careers. Those who do will go the extra mile by keeping their agreements and re-negotiating when they can't. All agreements matter.

People who keep their agreements or re-negotiate when they can't are few and far between. But then, so are successful people. People who succeed in life arrive at meetings on time. They phone when they are late. When they say they will do something for a customer or a co-worker, they do it, or they phone the customer, explain why they can't, and re-negotiate.

They understand, however, that constant re-negotiation is the same as not doing what they say they will. Re-negotiation has more credibility if it isn't part of every agreement.

When we keep our agreements, we gain respect and trust. We are viewed as reliable people with integrity. People depend more on us for leadership, advice, troubleshooting, and even friendship. Good management recognizes leaders and rewards them with promotions and raises because it knows that reliable people are the foundation of a successful business.

When I moved from selling cellular phones from the trunk of my car to selling them from a small store, the lease agreement was made with a handshake. After the company had done all the leasehold improvements and been operating for three months, the landlord said to me, "We better get something in writing here." Two days later we signed a one-page document.

I had known the landlord for almost five years. I met him when he interviewed me for a job. I chose not to work with him directly, but we stayed in touch. He became a customer and a mentor before he was my landlord.

The point is that because both of us knew and trusted each other's commitment to keeping agreements, the business transaction was very comfortable and allowed for a kind of peace of mind we don't always find when operating a small business.

These kinds of transactions occurred often for me because my handshake was considered as good as my signature and my networks include people with the same type of character. People who keep their agreements tend to associate with other people who keep their agreements.

The benefits of being perceived in this way are not just professional. Co-workers, peers, and friends outside of work need reliable people as much as business.

When we build the habit of keeping agreements into every part of our lives, not only will there be more opportunity for practice, but we will eventually find ourselves surrounded by people who know we are as good as our word.

When that happens, we gain the confidence we need to become successful. Other people who keep agreements will prefer working with us too. Would you rather work with someone who does what they say, or, with someone who does what they say - some of the time? The choice is clear.

We can be reliable people who keep their agreements. We can be successful.

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