...Just Show Up

They say eighty percent of success is just showing up.  I head a committee of about 25 people. The agreement is that once a month we show up for a committee meeting to do our work. What I found when I took over as the chair of that committee was that very few people were actually showing up to the committee but were being allowed to hold a title associated with the committee. 

It didn’t take me long to institute an attendance policy.  I was unsure how people would react to suddenly being held to a standard on this committee. What I have found is that it has been very positive. For those people who have been showing up on a fairly regular basis they are relieved that someone actually addressed the issue. 

What I found is that it wasn’t fair to allow people to have the perks without doing the work.  If the rest of us were there putting in the time and doing the work, then you should be too, if you wanted to be on this committee.  Now it seems like such a simple concept.  If you make the commitment, then fulfill the commitment. Don’t give me fifty excuses as to why you can’t be there. Either show up and do the work or leave the committee. 

It’s pretty much the same way with anything we do in life.  We make commitments, appointments, etc. with people for a reason. If you don’t honor those commitments how long do you think it takes for people to stop making those appointments with you?   When you are running your business, are you making sure that you are fulfilling your commitments to everyone like your staff, your customers?  Because if you aren’t it won’t take any of them long to find someone else to work for or to do business with.  

Suzanne Cormier

Executive Director

BizWorks (Small Business Incubator)

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