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From Mark Ford, founder, Palm Beach Research Group: I was eight minutes late for my lunch with SL. He stood up to greet me, smiling, and gave me a present—a book he had just published.
A few minutes into our conversation—we share many common interests as well as overlapping business methodologies—he asked me, “So… what do you think about punctuality?”
Embarrassed by the not-so-subtle reprimand, I told him that I thought it was very important and that persistent tardiness was inexcusable in a businessperson.
“Don’t feel too bad,” he said. “I used to be guilty of the same thing myself.”
“You used to be tardy?”
He had. And he’d broken the habit in two stages: First, he realized one day that all the businesspeople he knew and admired were punctual, even those who carried enormous work schedules.
“If they choose to be punctual,” he thought, “I must.”
The second event that broke his bad habit was a game he partook in at Young Presidents’ Organization meetings. Anyone who was tardy—or who left the room for a phone call or left the meeting early—was penalized by fines.
“It wasn’t the fines that made it work,” SL said. “It was realizing that the behavior was rude.”
Being rude is certainly never my intent when I’m late for an appointment.
I wanted to tell him that this punctuality thing is just a bad idea inherited from the Reformation. That it is a Calvinist principle masquerading as morality. I wanted to point out that in many parts of the world, people don’t fret about being late.
I wanted to say all that… but I didn’t. I’m a businessperson, and we businesspeople in America believe in being on time.
So be it.
My solution is this: I schedule time “to get there.” (This was my big problem. I acted as though I could transmaterialize to my appointed destination with the touch of a button.)
I get to each appointment 15 minutes early. I bring with me something I can do while I’m waiting—something important, like reading a report or writing a note—that can be done in 15 minutes.
I look forward to this time by myself before the other person shows up. And when he does—so long as he doesn’t come too early—I’ll be ready and in a good mood, not rushed and feeling guilty.
Elaborating on the above just a bit, here is a simple, four-step cure for tardiness:
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Schedule your arrival at least 15 minutes early.
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Schedule your departure to allow for traffic and other delays.
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Bring something useful (and, if possible, enjoyable) to do while you are waiting.
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Reward yourself afterward with some small treat.
I suspect that if you were to do this five times in a row, a new, better habit would emerge.
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