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Jeff Colvin
Management Consultant & Founder of Link,
a Management Consulting Group
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Years
ago I came to a stark realization of an evolving culture in the
business world. Employees at all levels were making, or agreeing
to, commitments that they could not keep.
In fact, the over-commitment culture was prevalent at the most
critical level of the business… the company to it's customers.
Some questions to consider at the initiation of a commitment at
any level, include:
1. Was the commitment realistic and attainable?
2. Was the commitment a dictate or a blind agreement?
3. Were the resources and time provided or available to meet the
commitment?
4. Were consequences tied to meeting or missing the commitment?
5. Did the person marking the commitment genuinely believer in its
delivery?
Too often, I have found, commitments made today are, at best,
hopes for success tomorrow. The lack of a vested interest in the
final outcome independent of the length or impact of the commitment
seems to be part of an emerging culture. There are two elements
at the foundation of this dangerously growing mentality.
First, consciously or unconsciously, over-committing today delays
the pain until tomorrow. It could be days, weeks, or months before
the consequence of a missed commitment is realized or discovered.
During that time we have had a reprieve from any chastisement or
pressure about our role in contributing to department or company
success. Potentially hazardous conflict has been avoided by committing
now, even if we have serious doubts as to the likelihood of our
success. Who knows, if we are lucky, maybe the commitment will just
go away due to a change in priority or direction, a management turnover,
or finding a better job for yourself.
Even more concerning is the second element underlying the evolving
culture of over-commitment. Begging for forgiveness often takes
the form of an alphabetical list of excuses. People have become
conditioned to blaming the lack of achieving their commitments on
a host of rational or irrational events. On the surface these excuses
seems like valid reasons for missing commitments. But, what could
or should have been done at the earliest awareness or identification
of these mishaps or barriers? Excuses, after the fact, cannot be
handled or managed. They can only be accepted or not. I say not!
Business comes down to planning and executing. We must plan well
and execute well and both of these depend heavily on making commitments
that are attainable and owned. Make and meet realistic commitments.
Make/Meet Commitments
Realistic and Attainable
- Have conviction around the ability to meet the commitment
- Do not accept your boss's goal, make it yours
- Own the commitment
Translate Commitment to Action
- Break commitments into actionable/measurable output
- Hold yourself accountable on a short interval basis
Raise flags not excuses
- Do something about early warnings early
- Solicit help to address challenges before commitments are
missed
Beg for Recognition not Forgiveness
- Reinforce small successes
- Share and promote progress
- Do not accept excuses
Jeff Colvin (Jcolvin@linkllc.com)
founded Link, a management
consulting group in 1997 whose mission is dedicated to the Systems,
Structures, and Behaviors that make people and companies successful.
Link's bottom line focus on process improvement is achieved through
the facilitation and training of cross-functional teams to address
key strategic goals. Learn more about Jeff
Colvin & Link...
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