I shared in my last blog about Bob Goff’s guarantee of answering his phone when called. I called and here is what it said “You have reached Bob Goff. I am sorry but I am in a place where I don’t have cell service. Please email me at bob@bobgoff.com and I will get back with you promptly.” So I did and here is what I asked:
I asked:
Your final call to action was Love Does – So what do I do? Our oldest son graduates in the spring and my wife and I have been coming along side him to support him in making a successful jump to work and life after college. I know you have been in this situation, so what advice would you give us about what we can do to help his transition?
Bob’s response:
Our son is just out of college too. We keep telling him about who he is, and I bite my lip before telling him what to do. There’s a lot of “You’ve got this!” happening, and not a lot of “Here’s what you need to do.” It’s kind of hard because you and I do know what our kids should do, but having the confidence of a father is better than all the advice.
For leaders – What if, as leaders, we focused on showing confidence and providing support vs direction and oversight?
For parents – What if we practiced some of the same things at home that we do at work?
Finally, Bob provided a guarantee that he did not hit, after all, he did not answer the phone like he promised. Yet he gave me a reasonable option and followed up as promised (< 5 minutes). I could have called out his error, maybe even went so far as to point out the hypocrisy of his promise. That would have taken energy and framed my relationship with Bob as an adversary. The cost of doing that would have been in missing some good advice that has the potential to take me much farther in a role that I cherish – father.
Don’t be afraid of what guarantees might cost you, but have the courage to move the balance of your focus on what they tell the world about you. There will always be ‘gothch’ customers, and over time a guarantee could be a way to ask them to go away.
I am still a fan of guarantees, and I have EOS® (entrepreneurial operating system® to thank for that. I am now a huge fan of Bob Goff, and it is because of a guarantee and the conversation that happened because of it. Thank you Bob!
Listen . . . Lead/Parent. Repeat often!
(ps. Bob Goff approved me sharing his advice – and responded to my request within an hour. 🙂 He gets it!)
