— To follow is a bullet of wisdom on leadership. It comes from Tom’s rifle, named Shot, who has seen it all. You’ll get the drift by clicking Blog in the menu at www.tomnewhouse.com. —
SOUNDS THE SAME. But in today’s world when someone says, “I promise I will _____,” one wonders if they will really do it. So, is a promise an option? Rudy, didn’t promise, when he said he would do something he did it. Him saying it, was a commitment. To use the vernacular of some farmers, come hell or high water, he’d get it done.
Too many leaders are only pretending. If they aren’t fakes, they’re flakes. Here is the point, plain and simple: If you commit to something, do it! It, not some compromised version of it. Deliver, like a mailman—rain or shine. Now, let me go back to a little word: if. Don’t go committing to anything and everything. Manage your commitments. That means choose them with achievability in mind; then track yourself, looking for ways to get them accomplished, perhaps creatively. And, if you simply can’t meet them, be forthright and apologetic, knowing that frequent failing equals flakiness.