Last week I talked about saying "NO" or "NEVER" and making a "STOP DOING LIST". This week I would like for you to ponder the thought of making a GAME CHANGING promise… "I will" or "I will never."
Seth Godin calls it "Delivering on Never". He suggests…
- I will never miss a deadline.
- I will never fail to warn you about a pitfall.
- I will never violate a confidence.
- I will never be late for a meeting.
Imagine the power in these statements. Now, some of you are breaking out in a cold sweat, I am sure. But think about it… YOU are in control of many aspects of your practice, and if you focused on making something happen YOU could do it… couldn’t you?
A few years ago I had a client who manufactured kitchen cabinets for big projects and he came to me to help him re-brand his business. He wanted a new name that would sound more Italian…. "Everyone wants an Italian kitchen!" he said. I interviewed architects, developers and builders to find out that their biggest "pain point" was the continual delays they experience with the import of kitchens from Italy… and a disbursement of funds was tied to that stage of the building process. So I suggested he differentiate his business… by delivering "ON TIME EVERY TIME"… he DID break out into a cold sweat and said "I can’t do that!" I asked…
You own the factory, don’t you?" "YES."
"You can get your raw goods from many suppliers, right?" "YES."
"You can run 3 shifts, can’t you?" "YES."
"You can choose to take the order or not, can’t you?" "YES."
"If you could deliver "ON TIME EVERY TIME" that would give you an edge over the Italian kitchens, wouldn’t it?" YES.
He was very nervous but was encouraged when his entire organization rallied behind the commitment and came up with great ideas to fulfill on the promise. This commitment was truly a game changer.
What could YOUR commitment be? What do YOU have control over in order to deliver… or NEVER do? What could your entire organization rally behind? What do your clients really want and value? Think long and hard about these questions since the answers could truly be a game changer.