The Spanish phrase ‘Hasta Manyana’ or ‘Leave it until tomorrow’ is very expressive – and expensive.We should battle against such an approach; if it can be done today, do it. Worse is the concept captured by the Greek poet, Hesiod, writing in 800 B.C.E, where he averred “a man who puts off work is always at handgrips with ruin”.
How often have you been frustrated by someone not responding to a phone call, email or text message? How many times have you found it impossible to get hold of the person you want to speak to? Nobody answers the main switchboard or if they do, you are just left hanging on to an unanswered extension? Their mobile is either off or unobtainable – worse, the call is terminated. You have sent six emails over four weeks and nobody is answering. And then success; an answer. Only to be told, we need more time. What more needs doing? What needs amending? Who is not clear? Which parts of the work need redefining? When will we begin? Do you give up or are you tenacious and prepared to go the whole journey because you believe you are right? This is a scenario which holds true for chasing new business, liaising with regular clients, chasing suppliers due to their under-delivery or fighting for payments for work successfully concluded but the payee refuses to fulfill their part of the agreement. We have seen how some people fall into bad habits because of the market they operate in, where their customers and suppliers are terrible communicators, so they become terrible communicators. This negative approach spreads like a virus, and begins to effect communication with employees and even with direct bosses. Prognosis is not good if our good habits crumble under the onslaught of others’ less than professional behaviour. The Spanish phrase ‘Hasta Manyana’ or ‘Leave it until tomorrow’ is very expressive – and expensive. We should battle against such an approach; if it can be done today, do it. Worse is the concept captured by the Greek poet, Hesiod, writing in 800 B.C.E, where he averred “a man who puts off work is always at handgrips with ruin”. Do you know people who are lethargic laggards who are at handgrips with ruin? Do you know people who refuse to pay what is owed and are thus at handgrips with ruin? Do you have customers who always put off work and are at handgrips with ruin? Do your people act like inert insipids who at best are incrementalists; or are they imaginizers, innovators and implementing initiative takers? There are also those who plan….and plan….and plan… but never do anything. Action and execution, from which we learn lessons, and an iterative process from which we learn informs future action and will deliver results. Those who do not act, are heading for ruin. Having a mindset of action over inaction needs to infuse an organisation’s purpose and vision as well as inform the values of the enterprise. If these values enshrine responding to all in-bound communication, delivering, delighting and exciting on all commitments and ensuring all stakeholders are treated equally, be they the biggest shareholder, the most junior employee, the most important customer or a supplier who is owed money, then the organisation will not be in the handgrips of ruin. Capturing these principles of respectful and speedy communication will ensure practices build a strong reputation for the organisation, reflecting a powerful image back from stakeholders. Your enterprises identity will be positively recognised and people will want to work for you, customers will want to buy from you and suppliers will want be part of your networked value-system. If however you are running a lethargic entity staffed with laggards who leave things until tomorrow, with employees who are inert insipids and if you do not pay your bills or answer your phones and emails, then you are in the handgrip of ruin, as noted nearly 3,000 years ago by Hesiod.