{"id":2809,"date":"2019-10-18T09:30:16","date_gmt":"2019-10-18T14:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/?p=2809"},"modified":"2024-03-04T15:16:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T21:16:00","slug":"under-commit-over-deliver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/under-commit-over-deliver\/","title":{"rendered":"The Skill of Under Committing and Over Delivering"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learning How to Under Commit and Over Deliver<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Living A Life of Focus &#8211; Part 5<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want others to think well of you and the service you provide, learn how to under commit, but wow them by over delivering.\u00a0 No one likes it when someone they&#8217;re doing business with or partnering with on a project, over commits and under delivers. The question is have you ever given someone the hope that you can meet certain expectations and when you delivered the results, they\u2019re less than what was expected?\u00a0 I know I have and it&#8217;s not a good feeling hearing the disappointment that comes from the recipient. To combat this and to never again put myself in this situation, Pamela and I came up with this focus statement, &#8220;under commit and over deliver.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808080;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2811 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/1191018-TIF-SM-The-Skill-of-Under-Committing-and-Over-Delivering.png?resize=400%2C400&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/1191018-TIF-SM-The-Skill-of-Under-Committing-and-Over-Delivering.png?resize=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/1191018-TIF-SM-The-Skill-of-Under-Committing-and-Over-Delivering.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/1191018-TIF-SM-The-Skill-of-Under-Committing-and-Over-Delivering.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/1191018-TIF-SM-The-Skill-of-Under-Committing-and-Over-Delivering.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/1191018-TIF-SM-The-Skill-of-Under-Committing-and-Over-Delivering.png?resize=600%2C600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/1191018-TIF-SM-The-Skill-of-Under-Committing-and-Over-Delivering.png?resize=100%2C100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/1191018-TIF-SM-The-Skill-of-Under-Committing-and-Over-Delivering.png?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/>The Thought or Concept:<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In his book &#8220;Developing the Leader Within You 2.0, John Maxwell says, \u201calways under-promise and over-deliver.\u201d\u00a0 The worst thing a person can do is set expectations and have them go unmet. I like what the phrase &#8220;under promise&#8221; adds to understanding this focus statement.\u00a0 We all make promises, but do our promises promise more than we can deliver? You do this long enough no one will ever respect or trust you will do anything you say you&#8217;re going to do.\u00a0 Your family will stop counting on you. Your coworkers will stop depending on you. You clients will go elsewhere to find people they can trust. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The quickest way to erode your integrity is to say that you can do more than what you really can.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">The Practice:<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To ensure you reverse the effects of over committing, let&#8217;s discuss a few steps you can take to apply this focus statement to your life.\u00a0 Here are several questions that may help create the steps needed to practice and pull off under committing and over delivering.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is my timeline for accomplishing the task realistic and can I meet this timeline before the drop-dead due date?\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This questions brings to my mind a previous focus statement, &#8220;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/deadline\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Deadline is A Deadline<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.&#8221;\u00a0 What this says is that you&#8217;ll need to better evaluate the tasks at hand prior to committing.\u00a0 You want to put some thoughts into this one with the end-game in mind; to wow your customer, coworker, or family member.\u00a0 You must put in the work, first.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do I have a firm understanding of what I&#8217;m being asked to do and the expectation of the one asking?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This question encompasses two important pieces needed to ensure under committing.\u00a0 First, get a complete understanding of the request presented. Secondly, make sure to obtain the requester&#8217;s desired expectations on what&#8217;s to be delivered.\u00a0 There&#8217;s no way to determine if you&#8217;ll over deliver or under deliver, for that matter, without knowing their expectations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What would I need to accomplish in order to finish before the deadline?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the most important question because it places ownership primarily in your hands.\u00a0 You and only you know whether or not you can deliver on or before the date set. So set a realistic date that gives you a little margin to deliver sooner than expected.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What would have to be possible for me to exceed the request and the requester&#8217;s expectations?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This fourth question is one for adding value and going above the request.\u00a0 Not until you have completed what&#8217;s been asked of you can you try to provide something over and above.\u00a0 It does us no good to deliver over and above results if we fall short on the requested requirements.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today is Friday!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ervin &#8220;Magic&#8221; Johnson says it this way, &#8220;understand your customer and over-deliver.&#8221;\u00a0 In other words, form a relationship with your customers, co-workers, and family so that you can understand them and give more than what&#8217;s asked of you.\u00a0 If you want to be the difference maker, learn to under commit and over deliver.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Until next week, do me a favor, under commit and over deliver on the number of people you plan to share this content with.\u00a0 I certainly appreciate it.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\"  style=\"border-color:#c7ced4;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#E1E8EE;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note\"  style=\"border-color:#e5e5e5;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFFFF;border-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/familyplan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Family Plan Binder<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/familyplan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-1025\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Family-Plan-Cover-e1493399146525.png?resize=115%2C149\" alt=\"\" width=\"115\" height=\"149\" \/><\/a> is available now! <p><\/p>\nOur team has worked very hard putting it together. We designed it to help you and your family move the needle forward in making your life your business. \nFind out more about the Family plan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/familyplan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here.<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Under commit and over deliver is the name of the game.  But why do we so often do the opposite, over commit and under deliver?  Well I know why, it&#8217;s never been our focus.  So why not make it a focus statement for the year?  We did and we&#8217;re sharing it with you.  Check out &#8220;The Skill of Under Committing and Over Delivering.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[303,26,253],"tags":[65,290],"class_list":{"0":"post-2809","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-living-a-life-of-focus","8":"category-marketing","9":"category-marketing-campaign-for-your-life","10":"tag-focus-statement","11":"tag-production-and-development","12":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/1191018-TIF-Blog-The-Skill-of-Under-Committing-and-Over-Delivering.png?fit=760%2C360&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4jb7V-Jj","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2809"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2812,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2809\/revisions\/2812"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}