George Carlin, the comedian who recently passed away, often talked about the seven words you could not say on TV. I believe that there are some words which should either never be said in business, or if they are said, they need to be accompanied by a very detailed explanation.
If you listen carefully when most people talk, they usually are afraid to make a commitment. They use terms which show that they are not really confident about what they are telling you. Here are some examples.
most: I'll have most of the work done by tomorrow. What is "most"? 90%? What 10% won't be done? How will you decide what won't get done?
usually: I usually get there by 5:00. How many times is usually? Will you get there at 5:00 tomorrow? - because that is when I need you to be there.
think: I don't think that will be a problem. Will it be a problem or not? I need to know now so I can be prepared.
should: That should be fine. Will it be fine or not? If it won't, then I need to do something else.
plan: I plan to have it done Thursday. I don't care about your plan. Will it be done on Thursday or not?next week: I'll call you next week. When next week? Five days is too long a span of time.
I could go on and on. I am sure you get the idea. If you are going to run a successful business, you can't afford to accept that kind of communication from anyone - employees, customers, or vendors. You can only make good decisions if you have good information. You can only run your business efficiently if you have good information. If a vendor says "I usually deliver by 3:00," you really need to know that he WILL be at your company by 3:00. If a customer says "I usually buy 10 of Part A and he orders 12, what will happen if you have only manufactured 10?
Now some of you may think I am taking this to an extreme. I disagree. I believe that business owners that accept less than the best, less than the most accurate, etc. will never realize their full potential. If you get on an airplane that is supposed to go to Denver, you don't want to hear the pilot say, "Welcome aboard. I usually land this plane in Denver somewhere between 5:00 and 7:00. I should be able to do that today." That wouldn't give you a very warm feeling.
Don't let anyone off the hook. Ask them to commit!!!!
Whether you agree or disagree, please feel free to post your comments. I always enjoy hearing the opinions of other business people.
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2 comments:
Ron, may I add one more suggestion to your list? I have consciously stopped myself using this particular word since 2005. It is "TRY". What is "try"? Do you do it or you don't? Do you give it your 100% or you do the minimum? It's too ambiguous. The other word that can be rather negative is "BUT". I couldn't totally dismiss it from my vocab list, however, I minimized the usage or replaced with another choice.
I had this suggested to me some time ago. Intead of "but" say "I agree, and I am concerned about ...." It makes your reaction much more positive to what someone else has said.
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