The Sin of Wasting Time

I try to keep the tone of this blog as positive as I am able. After all, who wants to hear someone whining and complaining about something when you are trying to relax and possibly learn something. So, in the spirit of learning, I must address this personal pet peeve.

I recently met a professional (let’s call him A) who was going to introduce me to another professional (let’s call her B) in a business setting. I met A last Friday morning. We spoke at a meeting and I told him I would contact him later to get the contact information for B. When I returned to my office, I sent him a follow up email requesting the contact information for B. I heard nothing from him on Friday, but did not make a big fuss. I did not like it but did not expect to hear from him Saturday or Sunday, but I did expect him to follow up on Monday. Monday came along and nothing, so early in the evening, I left him a voicemail on his phone gently reminding him that I was still waiting for the contact information which I wanted on Friday. Today is Tuesday, up until this morning no call or email came. In the afternoon, I called him again and he answered this time. He apologized and told me he was busy and had ‘failed to follow up with a few things.’ What, he is the only one who is busy? Even in his busy schedule, one simple call or an email could have prevented many hours of frustration and needless waiting.

Is it only me, or are people simply becoming less and less considerate and even down right rude when it comes to respecting other people’s time? I understand that everyone has busy lives and they sometime forget things. But is there an excuse for not respecting other people’s time? Is it acceptable to tell another service professional (this person is in the business of coaching people) that you happened to be something he ‘failed to follow up with?’ And this was not the only episode of the day. Perhaps that is why I feel the urge to address this problem. :-)

Most people in our society are now involved in some type of service industry, as we do less and less manufacturing here in the U.S., we are a service economy. The key word here is: Service Economy. I am a service provider, so are many of my client, be they software engineers, venture capitalist, mortgage brokers, dry cleaners, or the gardener. All of these jobs require that the professional provide a service, we are selling our expertise and time. We do that so our principal or client can spend more time in their core competencies; they then can sub-contract out the tasks at which they are not proficient or simply do not want to do. Isn’t this why we are in a service economy? Because of job specialization.

Given this fact, everyone should be fully cognizant of the importance of time in our society: there never is enough of it, so we must not waste it. Time is so important, we even have people called personal shoppers telling us what clothes to buy for those of us who do not have time to keep up with the trend or even go shopping. I am not one of these people who need such service. :-)

Everyone’s time is important, yet why are there so many people out there who have such little respect for other people’s times? Remember, time is money for most of us, especially those of us who are 100% commission based. Our companies are not paying us a salary. The time you take away from us can be utilized providing service for someone else. There is nothing worse than waiting around for a call that never comes. Those phone calls and answers trigger other activities that lead to other activities.

Sometime we simply forget and everyone is guilty of this (myself included) but there are some people who are habitually guilty of this. I have a couple of clients who do this to me more than I enjoy and drive me nuts, yet I know they mean no harm (so what am I going to do, lecture a grown woman?) My rant today is aimed specifically at those habitual violators, and it is in the spirit of learning so please take it that way. I respect your time: that is why I always call you back promptly when you call me, so please extend me the same courtesy. Please, let’s remember the golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Steve Mun, Silicon Valley Realtor
www.stevemun.com