 | Stephanie Tooke
holds a Bachelors Degree in Electronic Engineering and an MBA in Business. She is currently pursuing her PhD. in Organizational Management with a focus on Leadership. Stephanie spent 18 years of her professional career with AlliedSignal Aerospace in the United States and Canada where she held several positions including Project Engineer, Quality Engineer and IPDS Team Leader. In 1997 Stephanie earned her Six Sigma Green Belt certification and trained 1500 employees in Total Quality Management. She is currently the Director of the ACT Centers in Hutchinson and Wichita and has expanded the Wichita site into a center for business consulting, problem solving and customized training. You may contact her by phone at (316) 978-8230. |
Business Consulting
2003-05-01 11:00:00
A 'deal' should be a deal
: I am 64 years old. I grew up in my father's business. One of the things he prided himself in was keeping commitments he made to others, regardless of the size of the commitment. Today it seems as very few business people and employees do what they say they will do, when they say they will do it. To me, this seems to be one of the greatest assets a business can have. Am I wrong? What has led people to be this way? What can be done to instill a greater respect for commitments?
ANSWER: You are absolutely correct. Honoring commitments in your business and personal life can mean the difference between success and failure. Many years ago, in the days before written contracts, your word was your bond. Honoring your commitments was a reflection on the family honor. In bygone days when there were a lot fewer people, in towns all across America, people knew who you were and who your parents were. Therefore, how you honored your commitments reflected on your entire family. In today's faster paced society with larger and more transient populations, you often do not know the person with whom you are doing business. This has led to a more impersonal approach in business that allows people to not feel bad when they don't keep their promises since they really don't know the person they are dealing with anyway. In business, if you honor your commitments you will build a clientele of loyal customers who trust you and that trust is a big component of successful business. People really do prefer to do business with someone they have come to know and trust and honoring your commitments to your customers is a very important way to build your clientele. I think that the way we learn to honor our commitments goes back to the example we set for our children in our homes. We should not only teach them, but show by example, that your word is the most important thing you can give someone. Children see daily examples of people who get rich quick by cheating others. On the news every day they see stories of executives making hundred of millions of dollars and yet not honoring their commitments to their own employees. They need to see their parents operate in the business world using ethical values and operating to a high ethical standard. This way they learn by example. We need to set the model for our children so they will grow up to know that honoring your commitments is important. We also need to make our employees accountable when they promise something to a customer. Accountability here is the key. If you say you will do something, make sure that you can deliver. If a problem comes up, keep the customer in the loop and do everything you can to keep the promise, whatever that takes. Most customers understand that sometimes unforeseen circumstances can happen. But if they are kept up to speed and feel that you are really putting in that extra effort to honor your commitment they will work with you and still come back to you for future business.
