Be on Time

Always be early in your meetings.

I had a talk yesterday for the International Contact Center Conference and Expo at the SMX. My talk was suppose to be at 2:45pm. I arrived at 1:50pm. Upon arrival in the parking lot, I received a phone call that my talk was moved to 2pm due to unexpected events. It’s better to have contingency plans all the time and one good contingency plan is coming to your meetings early.

I had to intentionally cultivate this attitude as being late was a chink in my armor. When I was younger, I’m often late going to meetings, and I didn’t realize that it’s hurting my credibility with people. I had a change of heart when I heard this quote from our pastor: “If people can’t trust you with time, how can they trust you with money?” That changed everything.

Being on time is the first step to establish trust with people. Without trust, there is no relationship; even if you think there is.