I think there is a lot to be said about a person's character when they act in the manner they say they are going to act. For example, if I say I am going to act like a Christian and I do an act that can easily be linked to the acts of Christians - for example, I do not bear false witness when it would be easy to do so - then someone observing my actions may draw the conclusion that "You are acting like a Christian." On the other hand, if I say I am going to act like a Christian and then I do an act that cannot easily be linked to the acts of Christians - for example, I tell someone I just met that I am a world famous astronaut when it is clear I am not (it'd be a lie) - then someone observing my actions may draw the conclusion that "You are not acting like a Christian."
Not sure why I chose acting/not acting like a Christian as an illustration because what I really wanted to say is that if you say you are going to do something, you should do it. It used to drive me nuts in high school. "I'll call you tonight and we'll find something to do." Stupid me would sit by the phone and wait, believing the person at their word that they were going to do what they said. Another example was with Old Stew, the band I was in during college. In the fall of 1992, the guitarists and vocalist were going to play an acoustic gig at a bar in Iowa City. I said, "Tell me when it is and I'll go with you." "Yeah, I'll do that." No one did. Instead, I heard the song I wrote the lyrics for on a cassette after the gig.
Personally, I think following up with someone in the workplace should be expected. It should not be a surprise to anyone if I say to you, "I will let you know tomorrow what [another employee] thinks we should do - I have a meeting with [another employee] in one hour." You should expect me to follow through and call or send an email or walk up to you the next day and in some way communicate with you that I did, in fact, speak with [another employee] and that I discussed the situation and this is their answer. It should be straight-forward. You should not have to corner me in the hallway and demand to know. You should not have to call me repeatedly and leave voice mails. You should not have to do any of those things. It should be a given. I do not know why people stopped doing what they say they are going to do. If someone tells me, "I will call you either way," I take them at their word and when days pass and I do not hear from the person, it is me that has to call them and ask them about the status.
I can tell you that there are two people I dealt with today that are excellent examples of what should be done by everyone. The first was a topper dealer in West Branch. On Tuesday, I stopped to ask a question about our topper on our Ford F-150. He said that he didn't have a part that I needed but he would look around some more and call me when he had one. He called yesterday afternoon to say that he had one. He said he would call and he did. Simple. Another example is I called our camper storage guy - his name is Doug - and I asked him what we would owe him when we pick up the camper on Sunday. He said, "Give me about 10 minutes and I'll call you back." Sure enough, within 10 minutes, he called me back. He said he would call and he did.
I have been guilty of not doing what I say I am going to do. I say that I am going to be a better person, but I continue to make mistakes. I say that I am going to keep the den picked up and organized and, frankly, it doesn't. I say that I am going to write music reviews for Daily Vault and I have not. I say that I am going to not make the same mistake twice and instead, it happens three times. These are all illustrations of my humanity. I am a human being. I have faults. I hope that my good and decent qualities outweigh or outnumber the bad and indecent qualities of my persona, my character, my legacy as a member of society on this planet.
I really do not believe what Maya Angelou, the great poet, said is correct. She was quoted as saying, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I think people live in a society, today, where what you have done is never forgotten. Look at Tiger Woods who is still reeling from the scandal of his infidelity. Look at Charlie Sheen who is still a public relations nightmare. Look at the way society views Monica Lewinsky. What was her job title? Don't know, but she was Bill Clinton's mistress. And while I am not Al Gore's greatest fan, how often is it brought up that he said, one time, he created the Internet:
It is the punchline to a lot of jokes and a lot of humor has been made at his expense. It isn't about what he made us feel like when he stated that - it's what he said.
By the way, waste another 9:30, watching this video, then quit surfing the Internet - that Al Gore invented - and spend time with your family and friends:
No comments:
Post a Comment