I was listening to a popular sports talk radio station (Sport 620 KTAR) here in Arizona the other day where Colin Cowherd was talking about the importance of being “on time.” A professional golfer had showed up to a tournament 5 minutes late and was thus disqualified from the tournament under the rules of the league.
Colin asked a generalized question to his audience, “how late is too late to show up to a meeting or important event?” I, along with Colin, was shocked to hear some of the answers that came in. Some said 5 minutes, some said 2 minutes, and others even said 15-30 minutes.
The fact of the matter is, if you’re late… YOU’RE LATE!! It doesn’t matter if you’re 1 second or 1 hour, if you show up past the time when you had agreed to be somewhere you’re late. By being on time you show respect for other’s time and, in contrast, when you are late to a meeting you are basically telling the other person that your time is more important than theirs. This is a good way to lose friends, clients, and reputation.
When I was a kid, I was terrified of being late. On days there was a wrestling tournament, I would wake up at 2AM to make sure I was early to school because my coach would say, “The bus leaves at 4AM tomorrow. If you’re not on it at 4, don’t plan on coming at all.” I learned discipline and the importance of being on time at a young age because I didn’t want to miss out on opportunities.
As adults, employees, or business owners, it is even more important to recognize and uphold the value of being punctual. Why waist opportunities or give people false impressions about your company by being late without an excuse way prior to the meeting. It gets harder and harder as our lives get more busy each day. I can promise that by practicing and sincerely working to be more punctual you will find more satisfaction in your day and others will recognize your professionalism and want to work with you more. You’ll have more clients, more money, and more friends.