At our weekly company get togethers I often have a pondering to share.
On this particular Friday afternoon, I wanted to talk through a thought I had that morning crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge at 8:23am, around 45mins early for my first meeting.
“Don’t be on time”, I want my colleagues not to be on time anymore.
Why? Who wants to be “on time” for their life? I want people to be ahead of time, ahead of their time.
Life, it is said, is a metaphor for life. If you want to be late, you will be late, not just for meetings or engagements or drinks with family or friends …. you will be late to the proverbial party, full stop.
President Obama extols the virtue of being early to meetings, press conferences, basketball games. Watch Obama Video on being early.
When I asked our team, “why not be on time?” The wonderful, graceful, smart, young, award winning, “Lifeline volunteering” Ally Pickwell, (ahead of her time) said “because you can be early”. Right on!!
When I asked everyone else what their thoughts were:
1. To catch up with our colleagues.
2. Call that colleague or friend or partner I’ve been thinking about or send that note to someone you forgot.
3. Breathe, relax, prepare yourself mentally.
4. Talk to people sitting next to you or walking by (they might become a new friend, a person you might do business with, someone who owes you a call back).
5. Make the person you are seeing feel special (after all, its not respectful to be late).
So don’t be on time, just like Obama.
Otherwise, here’s a t-shirt to wear and book to read….
- first published on February 28, 2017 on LinkedIn