Prof. Elkana on punctuality: Is running late killing your reputation?

Timing is everything in life or so the popular saying goes. It could mean anything – being in the right or wrong place at the right or wrong time, speaking or keeping quiet when the other was the best option, or whatever takes your fancy. But being on time is not something that can be interpreted in different ways. It is completely binary. Either you are on time or you are late. For the record, being early doesn’t count for anything. It’s equal to being on time. Within reasonable limits of course – if you arrive 48 hours early for a business meeting then I recommend you visit the neighborhood psychiatrist immediately.

Many young MBA students of mine stroll into class late. With some exceptions, the latecomers are serial offenders. A small group who just can’t get anywhere with enough margin to catch a breather. And that really is the point. It’s not only about being late for class – it’s a matter of being stuck in routines where things don’t fall into place correctly due to overall sloppiness. When I examine this a little deeper, it turns out that these young budding managers usually are the ones who submit assignments late, don’t make it to most appointments on time, and are probably missing all kinds of administrative and personal deadlines.

I started working at J&J when I was roughly seven years into my career. The last few jobs had been in companies where nothing ever started or ended on time. On day five at J&J, I was asked to attend a 9 am cross-functional Sales & Operations meeting at our factory, roughly 40 km from my home in Bombay. Despite my best efforts, I walked into the meeting room three and a half minutes late. Fifteen pairs of eyes examined me silently and then went back to the business of the day. That’s all it took for me. I don’t think I have been late for a meeting ever since. Rarely.

So, what’s the big deal about being a few minutes late? To understand this better, try and recall how your blood pressure hit an all-time high when you were kept waiting. What impression did you carry about the person who was running late? Even the best excuses don’t compensate for the irritation and inconvenience that you have been put through. Of course, sometimes you may miss an appointment due to unavoidable circumstances. Such occurrences would be few and far between.

The final nugget to bear in mind

Being on time for your professional engagements has some real advantages.

Let’s say you have to participate in a monthly business review. No presentations are needed from you, but you will be critically examining the presentations being made by others and using this review to get insights into your brand’s performance. Getting into the meeting room five to ten minutes ahead of time gives you several bonuses.

You may informally connect with other members of the team and deepen ongoing relationships. The extra five minutes will allow you to complete the longest laptop bootup in the history of the universe. Plus, your files will naturally be corrupted since this meeting has the senior leaders of the company in attendance. As per universal IT Laws, the probability of technology failure is directly correlated with the number of seniors attending the meeting. If your global CEO is visiting it is almost certain that the entire corporation’s network will experience a once-in-a-lifetime crash.

Moving on, inside your meeting safety window of a few precious minutes, you will have time to address all these issues. Critically, it will let you keep relevant files handy, organize your thoughts around issues you wish to have addressed and keep some key data in view to back up your arguments. Overall, you will be far more relaxed and productive than someone who barges in late and then has to explain why the business missed key targets.

One final thought – being on time is all part of the broader impression you will create. Are you one who can be relied on to meet commitments, come through in tough times, deliver the goods whatever they may be, and so on? Maybe you will fail some of those times for reasons outside your control. Normally, these will be times when everyone will cut you slack. But don’t expect the same sympathy if you are habitually late even with the smallest of tasks. In such a situation, you’ve created your own poor reputation and everyone will be expecting you to fail. 

Mind the clock, guys and girls. It really does matter.

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