You. Have. The. Power.

Here’s a SuperPower everyone has, but most people forget to use. It doesn’t cost any money, it will save you a lot of time, and when used consistently, it will automatically elevate you head and shoulders above your colleagues and competition.

People will choose to work with you and, initially, if you asked them why, they would be hard pressed to articulate it. But eventually when they’ve experienced your SuperPower repeatedly, they will be able to name it.

They’ll use words like reliable. Dependable. Calming. Professional. Committed. Honest.

This SuperPower is not easy, but it is so simple, you may not even consider it to be a SuperPower. What makes it a SuperPower are the results you’ll achieve by using it. You have complete control over this SuperPower. You can turn it on anytime. It’s always with you.
 
Eight words. Can you guess?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do what you say you’re going to do.

That’s it. Simple, right? Easy? Not so much.

I was recently talking to a woman about a potential collaboration. She was thinking I might be a good fit for her team. After our initial conversation, she said she’d call me tomorrow. At the end of “tomorrow” I received an email apologizing that her day escaped her and she just ran out of time. She suggested we try again tomorrow. I told her I was available at 3:00 p.m., she said great, she’d send me a Zoom link.

Then. Nothing.

At 3:00 p.m. the next day, when I had not yet heard from her, I emailed her asking if we were still planning to Zoom? No response.

We had already scheduled another Zoom meeting later in the week so I could meet some of her team.

After that meeting, she texted me saying she was interested in my feedback. I told her I had a whole page of notes. She said let’s talk tomorrow. I said do you want to pick a time, or wing it? She said she prefers to pick a time.

Then. Nothing.

You might think I was being ghosted. Or perhaps that “she’s just not that into you.” Neither is accurate. She was really interested in me joining her team. When we finally connected, we spoke for almost two hours.

But if she didn’t do what she said she was going to do in the early stages, what hope did we have going forward? What would she be like to work with on a daily basis?

The SuperPower part? She had complete control over her words. It was HER choice to set those meetings. Even when I told her my availability, all she had to do was check her calendar and see if that time worked for her. If not, make another suggestion.

The same is true when you promise your customer a quote or your boss the report she needs. Did you ask when your customer/boss needed it? Or were you trying to look good so you volunteered you’d have it to them in two days? Do they even need it in two days? Is two days realistic? Or are you just setting yourself up for failure?

Before you use your SuperPower, it’s useful to ask questions, like: when do you need it? Then check your schedule to see if you can meet that deadline, and if you can’t, say so up front, and negotiate a new deadline. Once you commit, you need to turn on your SuperPower.

Do what you say you’re going to do.

Are you that friend, that coworker, that partner, that says I’ll call you later? But then you don’t? Is it merely a figure of speech (like ‘how are you’)? Do you actually intend to call them later?

The other day, I overheard a woman talking about her 20-something niece. She was complaining that her niece never returned her phone calls (even though she said she’d call her back). Her niece claimed, “younger people just say that, it doesn’t mean they’ll really do it.”

If that is, indeed, true, reread the first paragraph. Using this SuperPower will easily elevate you above all of those around you.

Do want you say you’re going to do, OR simply, don’t say it.
You. Have. The. Power.

What a delightful surprise to hear from someone unexpectedly, as opposed to being disappointed when she doesn’t call, even though she said she would. Be the delight, instead of the reason for someone’s disappointment.

Be the salesperson or the co-worker or the boss or the friend, that says what she’s going to do, turns on her SuperPower, and does it.

One of the biggest compliments I’ve ever received in business was from one of my clients. She asked me to take care of an issue she had with her order and I told her I would. She stopped what she was doing and looked me in the eye and said, ‘I know. I know that once you say you’ll take care of it, I don’t even have to think about it again.”

That’s a SuperPower!

Do you know you have this SuperPower? Do you remember to use it? Consistently?
Do tell. Below.