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The golden rule of Contracting
Article Author: Brendan Beeken Posted on: April 14, 2016 (Full Author Bio in the box on the right side)
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The golden rule: under promise and over deliver
Contractors can sometimes be expected to work long hours in order to meet targets and deadlines and it is important to ensure you always meet and exceed your client’s expectations.
It can be easy to get ahead of yourself and over promise to fulfil contracts ahead of time, which will often lead to a panic as the date you’ve made the promise for looms closer.
So, why do we do it?
We’re all guilty of wanting to please others and thinking we’ll be more respected and impressive in our ability to turn things around quickly. However, the majority if people will agree that they would prefer something to be promised and delivered towards the end of the week, rather than promised for the beginning of the week and delivered mid-week. This is where the golden rule to under promise and over deliver comes into play.
Even if you are confident that you can deliver a piece of work by Tuesday at 1pm, tell the client that it will be with them for Wednesday at 1pm instead. This buys you an extra 24 hours to ensure the work is ready and reviewed in a calm and organised fashion. It also gives room for the unexpected uncertainties in life that may crop up at any second – and usually just before that deadline! Your client – and yourself - will be glad you did.
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