Networking Success

The following is an excerpt from the upcoming book Face-to-Face Networking Skills

Lame Excuses
by Mindy Selinger

It is your choice to be late…anywhere. Whenever I state that in my workshop I get howls of protest, especially from the people who are most challenged by being on time. (The ones who were late to the workshop are usually silent!) We are uncomfortable at the close look we must take at ourselves to come up with the underlying reason behind the habitual behavior of being late.

Many people wear their ‘busy-ness’ as a badge of honor; they’re very busy, thus very important. We all have our Lame Excuses for being late: Horrible traffic; last minute phone call; client emergency; bad GPS directions … These reasons are all superficial.

A young man, a Realtor, in one of my workshops told me that on the rare occasion that he is late to an appointment, he apologizes sincerely (as oppossed to the hurriedly tossed off, “Sorry I’m late!”) and says, simply “I did not allow myself enough time to get here”. It was the truth, plain & simple without the lame excuses meant to throw the responsibility anywhere else than where it belonged, on him. (Then he makes sure he NEVER keeps that client waiting again)

We have all been guilty of this behavior at one time or another. The intention here is not to point fingers or make anyone feel defensive. Instead, find your own truth in these words and see where you can learn and grow. “How you do anything is how you do everything”, (quote source is unknown, but I heard it from T. Have Eker).

The next Networking Tip will offer a little more insight into this perplexing behavior. … Read it with insight and self-understanding …

No More Lame Excuses

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Low Priority

There is only one real reason for being late to any event.. Low Priority (AKA – You’re just not that into it). You see no perceived consequences in being late, (and no perceived benefits of being early) That is the primary reason for being late & I can prove it.

Let’s say someone was giving away a free laptop to the first five people to arrive at the next event an hour early. Would you be late? Not if getting a free laptop was a priority for you! You’d camp in the parking lot if you had to. You would not take that last minute phone call, you’d leave early in case there was traffic & you would look up the exact directions so you would not take the chance of being too late.

I considered dropping this discussion in my workshops, because the energy in the room would tank when we came to this topic. An informal poll told me the lessons REALLY made an impression of them. They had never seen this topic addressed quite like this and it was an eye-opener for them. It relates not only to networking but to personal business ethics in general.

Own Your Actions