Five Ways to Attract Integrity In Business And Banish Flakiness

Posted on 23. Jun, 2010 by Natalie in Entrepreneurs, Inspiration & Motivation

I don’t often get worked up, but one thing that I value above all other personal and professional values in life is INTEGRITY.

Image Credit to Bolstablog

Either people have less of it these days or I’m hanging around with the wrong people. I admit we all have flaws, we all make mistakes and can’t always be true to our word.

I am aiming this post at those people who fail to turn up to events or appointments, don’t treat deadlines seriously, don’t follow up or get back to you, forget about things all together, hold you up, constantly reschedule or fail to prioritize their own schedules and work at the expense of others’ valuable time.

Stop it. It’s rude, it’s disrespectful and it’s totally unnecessary.

I get that emergencies come up, that software failures caused your online calendar not to sync or an urgent crisis appeared. I will forgive you for that and be understanding because that’s life. So long as you attempt an email or phone call to let me know ahead of time.

I won’t forgive lousy time management, shoddy memories or something that seemed like a more attractive option that you went with instead.

I believe entrepreneurs can be particularly prone to over promising and under-delivering (from my own personal experiences). We aim to please, to be better, to improve the lives of others with the products and services we develop and deliver.

Then we realise we’re totally overburdened, stressed out, taken on one too many things and balls start to drop. So why not acknowledge that and do something about it? Here’s my thoughts on the matter:

5 Top Ways to attract more integrity into your life

Start with yourself
You’re brilliant, yes you are. You just need to gain some focus and respect your limitations. People will get it if you say no, sorry I can’t do that, I can’t meet this week or I can’t start that project for another two weeks.

The minute you set more realistic expectations for yourself you will find you’re able to commit, produce the results and follow through on your word.
Demand more of others
There’s no harm in telling people in your personal and professional life how you like to conduct yourself and the type of behaviour you expect from them in return. You may have different values so you need to let them know what yours are and what you appreciate and like.

If you don’t tell them how will they know? You do it for your employees why not do the same for your clients and customers?
Be selective
If people don’t respect you or let you down or then simply don’t deal with them again. This goes for customers, clients and even friends.
It’s called filtering out the flakes to let in the fantastic people!. You owe it to yourself to surround yourself with brilliant, wonderful people who you respect and admire and know that this feeling is mutual.
Set strong policies
Set clear guidelines for those you interact with, whether it’s your turnaround time for communicating with them, how your week usually looks, when you allot time for meetings vs work clients, team time etc.

The more upfront you are from the beginning the better it will be for both parties. They’ll know what they can expect and how to deal with you and you won’t have to repeatedly push back each time a boundary is crossed.
Just be better This goes for everyone (and most definitely me). Do one small thing every day that makes you a better person. Turn up to that meeting 5 minutes early, send that follow up email you delayed on, call a client just to connect, introduce people that could benefit each other, do a favour for a friend just because, send a thank you card because you can. Just do it.

And please give me your top tip for ensuring that flakiness is banished forever, I could do with some.

10 Ways To Start Your Business Year with a Bang

Tags: Being a Better Entrepreneur, Demanding More of Business Relationships, Gaining Integrity in Business, Professional Values, Time Management Principles

19 Responses to “Five Ways to Attract Integrity In Business And Banish Flakiness”

Tia Singh, Coach T.I.A

23. Jun, 2010

Whoa! JUST had this conversation with a friend last night where I bandied the word “flake” about a bit. I’m wondering if this is a West Coast habit cos I’ve never lived in a place where people are always so busy and overcommit or don’t think much of not showing up at all. It’s quite strange! Maybe they don’t think they’re being rude and assume everyone does the same so it’s expected.

Whatever the reason, it bugs the heck out of me too. How do I deal with flakes – easy, I don’t trust them or rely on them for anything. Once burned, twice shy. Okay, I’ll give them 2 chances and then, they’re low priority for me. Not saying I’ll never flake out or do something stupid, but at least I will have the guts to admit I screwed up and be aware of my habits.

I believe that how we do something, is how we do everything.

Thanks for talking about this, Natalie!
Natalie

23. Jun, 2010

Thanks Tia. I know we chatted about it too at the recent Linchpin meetup where of the 110 Linchpins who RSVPd for the Vancouver event only 50 or so turned up – and these are Seth Godin’s linchpins! If we can’t count on them who can we count on? I agree West Coast has a unique charm for being more relaxed and less scheduled with too many great options to choose from. But my solution is pick one and go with it. Get others to go to events you can’t attend and tell you about what they learned. The event organizers who put in the hard work will appreciate that you showed up and engaged. People will be happy you graced them with your awesome presence, you might meet new friends, referrals or clients. Fancy that!
Tia Singh, Coach T.I.A

24. Jun, 2010

I just had to come back and say – it happened to me today! Here I am sitting and waiting for someone at *bucks and I get an email to cancel … 5 minutes before show time. *Shaking my head*
Tania

24. Jun, 2010

This is so so true. I hate pikers, but I’m guilty of being one too!

It was one of my new years goals this year to stop being such a workoholic and get out and do more – but accepting the invitations and actually following through are two totally different things. Following through is the hard part.

I think it helps to really consider what you’re saying yes to and not just saying yes because it’s awkward to say no.

I’m going to bookmark this and read it next time I feel the flakes coming on!
Natalie

25. Jun, 2010

Hi Tania. Bookmark away, I hope I’ll refer back to it too as I’m guilty of sometimes piking although it’s not something I’m ever proud of. I agree on saying yes to things too. I was discussing this with a friend today who’s started being far more discerning of the clients he works with and not just saying yes to them because there’s money on the table.

The same applies with events, especially networking events. You need to attend a few to find out which ones have quality people, content and are really beneficial and which ones are just for show.

Natalie
Glade Poulsen

26. Jun, 2010

Loved your comments on Integrity. I, like you mentioned, am discouraged with humanity. It happens less in Asia where the culture is “relationship first, business second” and the relationship is everything. If we learned from the Japanese where relationship is first, we would not devalue that relationship by not returning calls, not showing up to appointments, not doing what we said we would do and we would just “DO IT”.

Integrity is earned one step at a time, doing what you say you are going to do.

Thank you again. Love the first step which states we have to start with ourselves.

Glade
Natalie

26. Jun, 2010

So glad you liked it Glade and also happy you’ve visited my site. I’ve taken a look at what you do and it’s clear that in your multi-level marketing business you’ve managed to maintain a high level of integrity in all that you do even in an industry that many people view less favourably, or with a measure of caution.

Nike have really hit it on the head with their `Just DO IT’ tagline that really should apply to everyone in their daily pursuits.
Get Business Online

28. Jun, 2010

Natalie, I like your direct style on this. It has certainly troubled me ever since I moved to Australia – people not returning calls, simply not showing up and generally having a sloppy attitude to customer service and other business relationships.

Could this be the legacy of a long union-oriented upbringing? Could it be the result of a social and governmental structure that supports laziness and always provides a safety net?

Either way, things have changed and small business owners simply must change with them or face business extinction.

Great post!
Gal
Natalie

28. Jun, 2010

Thanks so much Gal. You know as I listened to Seth Godin’s Linchpin audio book today I did also realise that when I wrote this I was very aware that I have likely done these things before and to try and better understand why and how to fix that. I think I work on it actively every day and always act with integrity. Yet something he said really struck a chord. I do make sure I tell people to tell me when I’ve let them down, and I do the same to friends, customers and clients otherwise they will not know.

In his book he talks about how people will seethe at someone’s phone going off during a meeting and show their signs of disapproval and sometimes anger by tutting or glaring at the person as if this is an action that will help, that the person will see it and instantly know they’re in the wrong. Rather than actually telling them the type of behaviour they’d like to see.

Yet I see so many people do this all the time. We just need to take the situation into our own hands and act in the way that we would like people to emulate.
Bryan

29. Jun, 2010

Interesting discussion.

To my mind, it is equally as important to make clear to a prospective client that we do not appear to share similar values, and that we would prefer to not proceed as it is to act with integrity with existing clients.

Nothing seems to speak louder than the decision to act with integrity at the risk of losing income.

My experience is that doing this leads to one jilted not-client telling others, who are then keen to work with someone who has such strength of conviction.

Just a thought.

Bryan
Smarter Business Club

29. Jun, 2010

Like you, Natalie, I am so tired of this. I have clients not bothering to call to cancel coaching sessions, tradespeople not showing up etc.

Yesterday, I even had to have a big discussion with the carer who comes to take my severely disabled son out for the day on a Tuesday, that being late is not acceptable – it leaves my son sitting in his wheelchair for ages not knowing what is going on!

I love your five steps and would only add one more to the list – make sure you tell the good guys just how much you appreciate their integrity!

Regards
Julie
Natalie

01. Jul, 2010

I totally agree Bryan. I expect similar values to be shared with my friends, customers and clients otherwise I seek out others who share and respect them.
Natalie

01. Jul, 2010

That’s a great one to add Julie. How often do we actually tell someone when they’re doing a great job – I mean how often do you ring your phone company if they give you great service consistently, to tell them that. It seems to be that only when things go wrong do we step up and complain. We should definitely reward great work.
Paul Groth

05. Jul, 2010

Hi Natalie,

I can’t believe this is such a bad problem, about 90% of my meetings end with the person not showing up and not informing me about it until the time I’m at the meeting, or not at all. I’ve wasted so much time and petrol on meetings that I’m starting to wonder why I continue on.

It’s not the reason for meeting because some of the meetings are about free help for something they really need and not even a service I provide, or about working together as a strategic alliance, or many other things.

The excuses are terrible, and sometimes they just say ‘oh yeah, I forgot about that’ like they don’t even care, after I spent about 30 minutes to drive there, 20 minutes wait for a no show, then 30 minutes back. errrrrrrr!!!

Get with it people, this is business, errrrr, so frustrating!
Natalie

05. Jul, 2010

Totally understand your frustration Paul. I’m lucky I’m not driving to my meetings or events that have been arranged but it is still the travel and preparation time you’ve put in. Plus, as you say you’re actually trying to help them with a need they have and they still don’t view that as beneficial. Perhaps it’s time for a change of business or a penalty fee for no shows!
Guacira

15. Jul, 2010

Unfortunately, it has happened to me once. The person I was en route to meet with called me to report an incident that required him/her (I’ll not identify this individual) to head home… but he/she would be back to meet me in about 30 minutes or so. Given the nature of the purported incident, I was willing to wait even longer. Which I did.

Over an hour later, not only he/she was a no-show, but didn’t email, phone me, returned my phone messages, texted me nor DM’d me through Twitter.

I never received a phone call apologizing, nor an e-mail.

There’s a part of me that feels that perhaps the individual felt too embarrassed to contact me after the fact, but what this person doesn’t realize is that I’m very forgiving: if they do apologize and make an effort to make things right, I give them second chances.

But not even an apology? Or an effort to contact? That, I’ll never forgive.
Natalie

15. Jul, 2010

Yes an apology, and a genuine one does not take much effort at all. I would say they possibly were very embarrassed at wasting your time, but that’s no excuse for not letting you know. The good thing is you only need this to happen to you once to spot the signs in advance of it happening again. Choose the right people to work with and for and life will be peachy!
Lorraine Cobcroft

23. Aug, 2010

Loved the article. Lots of comments and they are all valid and as there’s not much worth adding, I thought perhaps I might amuse some of you (if I don’t cause total despair) with a story from personal experience.

Had an appointment with a Telstra ‘Customer Care’ representative to finalise plans for installation of a $60,000 per annum telecommunications system for a business. Installation was already overdue as a result of Testra mistakes and we were getting stressed, suffering costs as a result of delays. Called rep at 9am to confirm our 9:30am appointment. All good, he said, but he didn’t show. From 9:45 am until closing time I kept trying unsuccessfully to make contact. Finally reached him 11am next day.

Excuse: I had an emergency and had to go back to my office to attend to it.
Question from me: Couldn’t you have let me know?
Answer: I had no way of reaching you.
Question: You said you were in your office? What’s that thing on your desk that your company earns so much money from selling?
Answer: I don’t know what you are asking here, but I don’t like your tone! I told you it was an emergency. I was very busy!
My comment (unspoken): Probably arose through poor service and poor manners.

I’m afraid I’ve come to expect the worst from people, and that’s sad. Congratulations on highlighting the issue of integrity. It is something that I took for granted many years ago living in a country town and I assumed it was just lacking in the city, but maybe it’s just a sign of the times?
Natalie

23. Aug, 2010

Wow that’s surely worthy of a write up or an animated video to send to Telstra. I give you complete authority to create a social media storm of bad press for them so they treat their customers right and with respect!