You’ve organized a meeting with a well
regarded, difficult to retain, and very expensive design firm.

The meeting starts bright and early and your
attendance is critical. It’s your
project and you need to kick it off.

You arrive the night before, but your
luggage doesn’t.

You’re dressed for flight, reasonably presentable
but not what you were planning to wear for a big meeting at a posh office.

What should you do?

1. Show up on time in what you’re wearing
2. Call your contact, inform them of your dilemma, and tell them you’ll be an hour late (allowing you to buy some clothes)
3. Show up late but “properly” dressed

Even if you’re the customer, showing up late
without calling communicates disregard for the other people involved. It’s also no way to build a relationship.

In my opinion, if the environment is not conducive
to option 1, then 2 is the best choice.

While this might seem like an easy call, it echoes
a discussion I had with someone who was leaning toward option 3!

How often do we take action without considering how
our actions impact others?

Understanding how decisions impact the people
around is core to implementing change.

So let’s put our heads together. Once a week (or so) I’ll publish a scenario
that highlights a relationship, management, or leadership dilemma.

I’m putting together a list, so please email me at
ann[dot]michael at managetochange[dot]com and tell me about the sticky
situations you’ve experienced.

I’ll tell you what I think and you tell me what
you think.

Deal?