In his commentary Saturday after Senator Hillary
Clinton's end of campaign/concession speech,
MSNBC announcer Chris Matthews proclaimed that
the senator had given a "thoroughly professional
speech."
Political leanings aside, I would argue with Mr.
Matthews' statement, for one reason: A speech that
was scheduled to begin at noon didn't start until about
12:45PM because the senator was late arriving. In
point of fact, she didn't even leave her home until
about 12:25. Forgive what some will no doubt see as
piling on, but a professional effort would have included
arriving at the venue on time and not, as a result,
keeping her audience, her friends, fans, and foot
soldiers waiting for nearly an hour in an uncomfortably
warm building.
In a speech to the Army War College, General Melvin
Zais once remarked that, "the only reason that
soldiers stand around and wait is because some
dumb jerk officer didn't plan it right, or planned it so
that they would have to pay for his not missing a
deadline." The General is right, and to be fair, Senator
Clinton is far from being the only culprit. Wasting other
people's time is one of the most inconsiderate things
we can do, and sadly, we do a lot of it.
Every day, doctors, ministers, managers, airlines, and
lots of others break faith with and show callous
disregard for people by disrespecting their time. Oh,
yeah, there are indeed bonafide unforeseeable
emergencies, but in reality, they constitute a very small
part of the cause for our tardiness. Anyone who flies to
or through the New York area is all too familiar with
this. The chief reason that virtually every flight leaving
the area is late is because the airlines and FAA have
conspired to allow more flights to be scheduled than
can possibly take off in a given period, even on a
bluebird weather day. Were he still alive, General Zais
would not be amused.
How many times have you sat well past the appointed
start time for a meeting to begin because a couple of
participants had deemed their time and priorities
more important than everyone else's? Worse yet, how
many times have you been that late arriving
participant?
Many years ago, FedEx founder Fred
Smith was a few minutes into his speech to an
assembled group of senior managers when a group
of three vice presidents strolled into the room, having
taken a slightly extended break. Stopping in mid-
sentence Smith glowered at the three guys now
entering the room and barked, "You three don't even
need to sit down. If what I've got to say isn't important
enough for you to be here on time, you'll have to get it
from someone else. Just go back to what you were
doing." Once a Marine, always a Marine.
So what to do? How do we get a little better handle on
this? Here are a few thoughts:
1. Make damned sure that if you're supposed to be
somewhere at 3PM, you're there. No excuses. Stop
assuming that your time is more valuable than anyone
else's. It's not.
2. When you are running a meeting or other function,
start it on time, period. Don't punish the innocent by
waiting for the guilty.
3. If you are in a position to enforce it, levy a fine (that's
right, financially punish) those who arrive late to your
meeting. Make the fine substantial. I once fined two
managers who had arrived late to a meeting $25,000
apiece from their operating budgets and $500 apiece
personally. The $50,000 budget credit was transferred
to the operating budget of the meeting's host, and the
personal money went to a charity designated by the
tardy culprits. Chances are you won't have to do it
more than once or twice. Recommend that others do
the same. You will begin seeing positive cultural
changes throughout the organization.
4. If you are a meeting participant, allow a five minute
grace period. If the meeting hasn't begun by the end of
that period, excuse yourself until it begins. Don't make
a scene, just leave.
5. Make a personal decision not to patronize
organizations and so called professionals who waste
your time. They don't deserve your business. In the
case of airlines, check your intended flight on
FlightStats
(flightstats.com) before booking. There is a difference.