Expectations, an Exercise in Marksmanship: Aim high. Shoot higher.
It took me entirely too much of my adult life to discover the following blinding flash of the obvious (those of you who’ve already incorporated the following simple human truth into your lives, forgive & ignore). So, here it is:
My successes almost always result from my deliberate or accidental successful management of other people’s expectations.
Here’s an example: When I went into business for myself, I warned my wife long before I pulled the trigger that it would be tough. It was. She expected it. We’re still married. Success. An earthier example: every morning, my dog, Jack, expects to be walked between 6:15 and 6:45. Fail to meet this expectation and I will almost assuredly have to deal with a notable disaster.
By way of introduction, I’m in advertising and design – one of two partners in a small shop in Birmingham called Cayenne Creative. (Apologies for again stating the obvious if you happen to be reading this on our site.) Here at Cayenne, we call what we do strategic branding. When I describe it that way, chances are you aren’t sure what I mean, that is to say, you don’t know what to expect. So, I say, “advertising and design” because it’s a decent distillation of what we do. It’s a description that begins at least to manage your expectations. And that’s something I’ve found you have to do in life. With diligence. All the time.
I’d venture to say that the success of any business depends entirely on successful management of client/customer expectations and that successful people in general are masters at managing expectations of everyone around them. Before I got into advertising, I was in the automotive aftermarket. For the uninitiated, that means “auto parts.” At one point, I managed a large distribution warehouse in Virginia, delivering merchandise to auto parts stores in eight different states, five nights a week. In the “parts bidness,” you get a real lesson in managing expectations.
With parts, the whole process starts with somebody whose expectations haven’t been met – a car that has somehow failed. What’s worse, they’re expecting the parts to be available and their car to be fixed the day they take it to the shop. Only, by the time we typically got involved, their expectations about the repair had already not been met, and they were being forced to wait for a part to be delivered by some nebulous “warehouse” before their car could be fixed. The garage owner expected a part to be delivered overnight to an auto parts store, where the guy behind the counter expected the part to arrive from the “warehouse,” where the Distribution Manager (me) expected his employee to pull the correct part. Anywhere in this process, there was ample chance for a massive expectation fail – an expectation domino fall that would result in nasty phone calls, epithets, and a general avalanche of bad karma. Suffer this sort of cataclysm and I pretty much had an entire posse of people who wanted to axle grease and feather my hindparts.
Here’s another example –this one from our ever-mystical, dashing, Mad-Men-Bewitched-Thirty-Something world of advertising: Watching the Super Bowl this year, you may expect the commercials to be entertaining – you know… something you haven’t seen. If they’re better than that – if they absolutely rock your world – the talk at work the next day will be all about the rock-your-world Super Bowl commercials. If they’re lame, well, let’s just say the talk’s going to be about work instead… or worse about the game. If they’re absolutely pathetic… as they have been over the last few years – the talk at work will be about the absolutely pathetic Super Bowl commercials, which, from an advertising point of view is less than ideal. Bottom line: watching lame commercials you expected to be good leaves you feeling disappointed, and more than a little resentful of all the pre-bowl hype.
Expectation Management doesn’t just apply to business. It figures into almost any human interaction you can think up. Got to work late, tonight? Better start managing somebody’s expectations. Your mother expects a phone call? Dial her up or pay the price. Your kid expects to see you at the soccer game? Come now – get your priorities straight, Bub! Your accountant expects to see all your numbers? You might want to show your accountant all of them, Mr. I-don’t-want-to-end-up-chummy-with-those-Enron-guys.
That’s Expectation Management 101. Simple stuff. The work of freshmen. Now… if you’ve read this far, I don’t want to leave you with just this – a thought you might consider a Monday morning’s work for Mr. Obvious – the plain Jane baloney blog. So here’s the special sauce … that little dash of something. And it’s a simple lesson really, Expectation Management 201:
Under-promise.
Then over-deliver.
Client expects a widget? Tell ‘em you’ll shoot for Wednesday. Then have it there close-of-business Tuesday. Working late? Tell her ten and show up at nine with a bottle of wine. Offer up a great deal to your client for a fair price, then turn up with the deal – plus a little extra something. Over-delivery is the essence of excellence. It’s the waitress who brings you the Bombay Sapphire martini gratis, the banker who remembers your name, the doctor’s office that’s on time. It’s the cherry on top, the chocolate on the pillow, the personal thank-you note. Do it and you will always be perceived as the stand-up businessperson, the dependable straight shooter. Just remember: don’t promise something you can’t pull off. And over-deliver. Every time. Aim high. Shoot higher.
