The Power of Under Promise
Bali ain’t all bad!
And now a happy Bali tale; with a business lesson.
We’re dining at Jimbaran Bay.
A few metres away, roving musicians Take it to the Limit One More Time for enthusiastic backpackers.
Lean dogs edge close to tables, but are driven off by restaurant staff.
Ring Tones
Suddenly our table is ringed by blue shirts, white teeth and worn instruments.
This is not our thing. Fonnie has no requests and I’m flummoxed – ten years of DJing gone in a second.
The men wait, while my Bintang brain races for a track. Any track. It’s our ten-year wedding anniversary.
I stare at my wife, hoping to unlock some memory. Finally, a name surfaces and I blurt:
‘Every Breath You Take! By … um … by … ummm … ahhh … The Police!’
I look at the faces in triumph, but there’s no flicker of recognition.
Dadaist
Like a loon, I start humming and da-da-ing – willing fingers to frets.
‘Do you know it? It’s by The Police … umm … Sting?’
The musos exchange faint looks.
‘Er … it’s OK if you don’t …’
A few tentative strums. Then an unmistakable chord.
‘That’s it!’
The leader communicates something like:
‘We’ll do our best, but don’t get your hopes up, Sunshine.’
Off & Running
Then, like Lance Armstrong, with a wobble and two clicks, the pedal goes down and we’re off.
It starts well, and I realise these guys must have played together for years – throwing cues to carry each other through.
Then I recall that Sting isn’t known for his simple chord progressions: what will happen at the bridge?!
But they’re already over it, rocks and rapids far below. They lyrics are perfect.
Now I think they’re freakishly talented. I beam at other diners, who are similarly impressed.
The song climaxes and I think we’re done. But not before some spot-on harmonies and a visual flourish from the double bassist that could only have come from MTV.
Penny Drop
I finally twig that they know the song inside out. They’ve probably played it a hundred times.
Had they said that, though, it wouldn’t have been as good.
The pretence of ‘figuring it out and winging it’– the under promise – gave a profound impression of over delivery.
And while I always maintain that ‘faux is foe’, these guys certainly got away with it.
This particular under promise won’t work for me again. But used correctly, the practice packs a punch.
Under the Pump
When I quote a client three days turnaround but nail their job in one, the effect is always positive.
I’ve learnt the hard way that quoting ‘one day’ and doing same stresses me, seldom delights them and leaves no wiggle room for unexpected events.
Writing this, I see I could be called faux for quoting three times the turnaround I need. So maybe I’m like the band. Maybe their strategy, too, is born of hard knocks.
Perhaps it comes down to intent.
Is under promising ethical, expedient or both?
Do you under promise and over deliver? If so, is it a one-shot deal or a strategy you can use for life?
I’ll be watching breathlessly for your take.
Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire
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Hi Paul,
I absolutely love your writing. This is perfect and I felt I was there and your description is brilliant. I envy your talent. No wonder this blog is so popular.
That is very kind of you to say so, Malcolm. Thank you!
I envy your 5 classic cars, 9 investment properties and signed Elizabeth Montgomery photo.
Maybe we can come to an arrangement!
It’s my opinion and experience that your habit of quoting three days and, most times, turning it around in one is being realistic about life in general.
In my business I’m a sole-proprietor which leaves me acting like a one-legged woman in an ass-kicking contest and woe to me if I lose my footing and crash to the ground.
My routine is what’s called the Swiss Cheese routine. I work on client’s projects every other day and on ‘free’ days I work on admin stuff, marketing, research, education, etc. and whatever suddenly needs immediate attention. Working this way effectively reduces the number of days that I can turn around a project but allows great windows of time for other, just as important, priorities to be managed. Let’s not forget those everyday life issues that make unlikely and unplanned for appearances – tearing you away from everything in their need to get sorted out.
Sure I could schedule out an entire blocks of time, and get a project done in a third of the time, but what about everything else that is required from me in the mean time? What about me and my health and physical well being? The stress experienced when working within tight deadlines gives birth to mistakes and gross errors – not to mention high blood pressure, headaches, sleepless nights, deteriorating relationships, etc.
I think it would be a great disservice to our customers if we were to do this to them. Because not only does everything get ignored as you work away, making outstanding promises sets a precedent that must be lived up to each and every time. And what happens next time when the customer comes around expecting a 2 hr turn-around and it takes that required three days?
They will meet with Disappointment.
Disappointment is Lady Luck’s younger ugly sister. If you’re lucky you won’t meet Disappointment coming from your clients. But we aren’t that lucky. Because Lady Luck isn’t a lady at all. She’s prone to fickleness and complete absenteeism.
Promises are made using our experience of what’s happened in the past, our knowledge of our skills and a healthy padding of down time for health reasons. By mixing these ingredients gently they can be used to make promises that can be kept.
Wow, Zoe! What an exceptionally fine response! Are you sure you’re a web designer and not a copywriter? I couldn’t have said this better myself. In fact, I didn’t. So I’m very glad you did. Thank you very much for taking us up a notch. P.
Yes Paul, I am a web designer/developer and not a copy writer. I’ll leave copy writing to the professionals – I simply like to tell stories!
Synchronicity has been following me around like a shadow these past few weeks. Or have I been following it?
Anyway, I just ran into this article by Smashing Magazine:
“Passing The Holy Milestone: How To Meet Deadlines”
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/07/28/passing-the-holy-milestone-how-to-meet-deadlines/
How timely is that?
Well, you tell jolly interesting and convincing stories, Zoe.
Thanks for the link; that article is indeed timely. And brilliantly written.
Just realised Seth Godin wrote about promises while I was away!
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/07/the-paradox-of-promises-in-the-age-of-word-of-mouth.html
Thanks for an interesting article on the practicality of under promising and over delivering. It is quite timely as I’ve been having this exact conversation with some colleagues recently. In my role as a researcher and community advocate I have learnt that this is a very wise approach, often due to unpredictability of life. This has been a big shift in the way I approach my professional life, but I also think that it is equally relevant for our personal lives. Under promise and over deliver is a skill that goes hand in hand with skill of being able to say NO to requests and opportunities, which often divert us from what we really want to achieve.
Thank you for joining us, Carolyn. It’s great to get your perspective and appreciate your comment.
I must admit that I do a little of both really. I am sometimes eager to impress and say I can do something really quickly and then focus on getting it done really quickly.
I can see the benefit of under promising however as I have been on the receiving end of many promises that had gone no where.
The other week I spoke to a web company about some work I wanted them to quote on. They were recommended by a friend.
I sent them the requirements that they said they would get back to me shortly. Over a week later, no answer, so I followed up and they apologised and told me they had too much work and couldn’t fit me in.
They then blabbed about how important quality was to them and rushing jobs wouldn’t do any one any good.
I was disappointed that they couldn’t quote but I was annoyed that they couldn’t be bothered telling me in a timely manner. I had to ask.
So much for quality.
It’s really good to get your stories, Arthur. They shine a valuable light on our discussions. Thanks very much for taking the time to table them. P.