Saturday, March 12, 2011

Under Promise & Over Deliver

Establish a reputation for saying little, always coming through on your promises, and even over-delivering on those promises. Do this consistently and business success is yours.

And, it works just as well in friendships and family relationships as it does for business relationships. In fact, the ages are filled with quotes emphasizing this very principle.

The Sages of the Talmud used to say, “Say little, do much, and greet everyone with a pleasant countenance.”

Example: Going back about 3700 years, Abraham met the visitors at his “door” and invited them in for some water to wash their feet and a morsel of bread to eat. What he delivered was a veritable feast (Gen 18:2-8).

I love this one, pointed out to me years ago: “The Bill of Rights is stated in 660 words. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address has 267 words. The Ten Commandments contains 77 words. A federal directive to regulate the price of cabbage contains 26,911 words.”*

It figures, doesn’t it? The really important things are typically far easier to communicate and understand than those that are made complicated. And often, that which is made complicated and difficult to understand is done so for a reason; to confuse others and somehow manipulate them, and most people sense this.

The point is, develop a reputation with those in your sphere of influence as a person who, instead of talking a good game, actually plays a good game; instead of talking about being honest, is honest. Instead of talking about thinking of others, thinks of others.

Say little and do much, and those others will go out of their way to please you. And, for good reason…you deserve it!

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