Is there anyone you know who claims to reach on time always? Today, I am sharing a story of a friend who had been reaching late always, for many years.
This is the story of a friend, Kamal, from my office in Mumbai, India. I remember that day when he was almost running behind office shuttle, to catch it somehow. Many times he drove behind the bus to catch it at the next stop, and many times, he almost reached the office with the car, with the hope to catch the bus at next stop. He always had very good excuses for being late. Here are some of his favorite excuses:
Today, bus tire was burst
Today, my alarm did not ring
Oh, I forgot that today is a weekday
Many of my friends gave him different tricks, to manage to reach on time. But finally, when I met him after 10 years, he reached at the venue on time. I was shocked. I asked how did you do that? He shared that once he saw his boss reached for his meeting one hour in advance. He went to him and asked: what are you doing here so early? He said, well, I came to know that I maybe late today due to heavy traffic, so, I planned to be here very early so that I am not late for your meeting because I respect your one minute, more than my one hour. That statement from his boss shocked him. He asked him for tips on how to be on time. His boss shared these three steps to reach on time:
Step 1: Never plan to be on time. Plan to reach at least 15 minutes in advance.
Step 2: Estimate time it will take to reach to the venue. Do not underestimate any step.
Step 3: Welcome the wait time. If you reach early, plan what activity will you do to utilize that time.
If my friend Kamal can reach on time, then I believe anyone on this earth can possibly reach on time anywhere. Here is a nice quote by William Shakespeare about reaching on time: better three hours too soon than a minute too late.
(This was Speech #2, with purpose: the resources for entertainment, from the Toastmasters manual: The entertaining speaker)
Comments