Early in my career as a business owner, I thought being clever was more important than being on time. In retrospect, I probably would have never renewed a contract with my 20-year-old self.
Flash forward and today my partners and I run a service business that thrives for a simple reason: we consistently deliver, time after time. As one of our longest clients recently told me, “I am buying peace of mind. I could give it to someone cheaper, and then either manage it myself or have to worry they might fail. I can trust you guys to take care of it and I will go focus on what matters most to my business unit.” In short, we’re successful, because we are dependable.
Finding a vendor, employee or partner who will consistently play their part is one of the great challenges in business. Want to win in this world? I’ve found that the most simple and effective tactic is to be the most dependable. Unfortunately, that’s a quality that’s often severely lacking in the service industry.