I purchased a new car in April. During the sales process, I met the sales manager at the dealership. He invited me into his office, couldn’t have been nicer, and during our conversation he offered me a golf sweater that had the dealership logo on it. They didn’t have my size, but he shook my hand, thanked me for buying the car and promised he would personally mail the golf sweater to my home as soon as my size came in. That was six months ago.
That meeting with the sales manager was the first and last time I’ve ever heard from him. And the golf sweater? It never came in the mail.
That car dealership is on the way to my son’s hockey practice. I drive by it five times a week. And every time I drive past that dealership in my new car, do you know what I think about?
I know. I know. It’s a $100 golf sweater. I have ten of them in my closet that I hardly wear! Why am I so worked up about it?
DO WHAT YOU SAY! That’s why.
When I first moved to Colorado in 1999 I met a guy named Ed Larkin. He was a huge Colorado Avalanche hockey fan. He had a partnership with AV’s season tickets and asked me if I wanted to buy a handful of games. Ed told me the economics of the deal and then promised me that he would mail me a check at the end of the season if there were any remaining funds.
Sure enough, the following April after the AV’s hockey season, Ed Larkin mailed me a check for 23-cents.
The stamp on Ed’s envelope cost more than the enclosed check!
Who mails a check for 23-cents? Ed Larkin does. Why?
DO WHAT YOU SAY! That’s why.
And you know what? Every time I think of Ed Larkin – eighteen years later – I think about that check for 23-cents.
I have a dear friend and mentor named Scott Lynn. Every time we have lunch together he ALWAYS carries a small notebook with him. I’ve had fifty meals with Scott in the past ten years and he has never NOT had that black notebook in hand. Why?
Because Scott lives DO WHAT YOU SAY. And every time we have lunch together he writes down all action items we discussed. I have known Scott for eighteen years and he has never not done what he said he was going to do. Never!
My wife has this saying…. Say what you mean – Mean what you say.
I’ve always believed it is better to say the word no, than to say the word yes, and not deliver on your promise.
Our words are powerful. But our promises are even more powerful. Our promises are a reflection of our character. So, buy a little black notebook and write down all your promises. It doesn’t matter if it is a $100 golf sweater or a 23-cent refund check – DO WHAT YOU SAY!