How many calls have we all been on in the past month where at least one participant pinged in five minutes after the start time with this apology? How often is it you running at such a pace that this is your line? Worse yet is an entire team being on hold in the virtual waiting room listening to a soothing voice repeat “please standby, the host has not yet joined the meeting”. I find myself wondering when this became the norm, and whether I am just being old school about being prompt.
I freely admit that I am the guy who shows up a few minutes early whenever possible, that schedules extra drive time in case of traffic delays, and I would rather be at the airport in time to relax than running for the gate. The fact is that some meetings do run long, schedules get overbooked, and unexpected things pop up in the “urgent and important” quadrant that Stephen Covey taught us about. The question we need to ask is have we let ourselves become programmed to be late? Is it part of our harried, very important executive self-image that secretly gives us a little power rush? If this is your mode, how does it impact interactions with prospects, customers, colleagues and friends, and is this truly how you wish to engage on a daily basis?
The book Samurai Selling by Chuck Laughlin and Karen Sage, founders of Corporate Visions, talks about the Samurai as literally “one who serves”. The attitude of being in service in sales, respecting your prospect/buyer’s time and adding value in every interaction is incredibly powerful. There is a related behavioral hack I learned a couple of years ago in a workshop, being in “Host” mode. The idea is to treat everyone you encounter as though they are your guest, ensuring they are comfortable and have everything they need. Not just some people, everyone…store clerks, wait-staff at a restaurant, airline agents, yes, even telemarketers. Hitting this switch on days that you feel overwhelmed, putting yourself in a spirit of service and stewardship can radically alter the way people perceive and respond to your interactions.
This really all comes down to respect, something the global political and social climate is sadly seeing decline in 2018. To paraphrase Emerson, “what you do speaks so loudly I cannot hear the words you say”. Try taking a day or a week of being on time for every call or meeting. Take a moment before the call for a deep breath, shift gears and put yourself in service, in host mode. At the very least you should find yourself in a much higher vibration at the end of the day, and who knows, you might even close a deal or resolve a conflict along the way.