Our actions communicate very loudly!

In his article Marketing Time, author Seth Godin talks about the message we communicate based on how we treat other people's time. I wholeheartedly agree with this. Time is the most valuable resource we have - yes I believe it is even more valuable than $, because there is a limit on the time we have. Therefore, acting in a way that takes into account other people's time sends a very powerful message that WE CARE.

Yesterday I had an appointment for my yearly check-up with my optometrist. I waited for 45 minutes. During this time, not once did anyone come to me and apologize or told me how long it would be before the Dr. saw me. When I finally saw the doctor, all he said was a quick "sorry to keep you waiting". I definitely didn't feel that he was sorry at all. All it did was reinforce the feeling that I had that he felt his time was more important than mine.

Another area where people don't take into account other people's time is in how they respond to email or voice mail messages. What people don't realize, is that the way they respond to others sends a very powerful message as to how they feel about other's time.

Ever since I can remember, I've had a personal policy of responding to email and voice mail messages within 24 hrs anytime I'm not traveling. And I've been very good about doing this. The reason I do this is because I care. I care enough about communicating to people that they are important to me. I care more about them than I do about my reasons for not doing it.

What is interesting is how often people remark how surprised - and appreciative - they are that I got back to them so promptly.

What are you communicating?

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