How You Do Anything Is How You Do Everything

[00:03] Welcome to this week’s episode of The Engaging Marketeer. Today, I want to have a bit of a moan—a complaint, a rant, call it what you will. There’s something I’ve been noticing in business that I feel needs addressing, and it’s this concept: how you do anything is how you do everything.

This phrase is well-known, often quoted, and holds so much truth. How you conduct yourself in one area of your life or business inevitably reflects on every other aspect of what you do.

[00:48] The reason I’m bringing this up is due to one person in particular. I won’t name names or the company, so don’t worry—this isn’t a naming-and-shaming session. But this individual has been invited to attend a meeting—not once, not twice, but over half a dozen times. Every time, they’ve confirmed they’ll attend. They’ve said they want to meet the people there and discuss business opportunities, yet they’ve failed to turn up.

[01:29] Now, I get it—things happen. If someone misses one meeting because they changed their mind or something genuinely comes up, that’s understandable. Perhaps they decide the night before, “I don’t really want to go,” and cancel with a polite message. That’s fine. But this person hasn’t done that. They’ve repeatedly not turned up without any notification or follow-up.

When someone does this, my response is usually polite: “Sorry we missed you. Hope everything is okay.” But deep down, what I’m really saying is, “Where were you?” Sometimes I get excuses or a request to attend the next meeting, but with this person? Radio silence.

[03:13] After following up again, they might say, “Put me down for the next one.” But they continue not to show up. This isn’t just once or twice—this has happened more than six times.

Some might say, “Well, it’s just a networking meeting; it’s not a big deal.” But here’s the thing—it is a big deal. When someone confirms their attendance, everyone else in that meeting is expecting them. When they don’t show up, it sends a clear message: “I don’t value your time. I found something better to do, or I simply couldn’t be bothered.”

[04:14] This isn’t just about letting me down. It’s about letting every single person in that room down. These are professionals expecting to network with someone who has shown interest in their businesses.

The issue goes deeper when you consider the industry this person is in—property and building services. His potential clients are architects, developers, surveyors, and builders. He’s not the only one offering what he does, and by not showing up, he’s signaling to everyone that he’s unreliable.

[05:27] If someone like this were given a business referral, would they even bother showing up to that meeting? That’s the question I’ve been asking myself. Why should anyone trust them with a referral if they consistently fail to honor their commitments?

[06:47] Here’s the crux of it: if you’re in business, people need to respect you, trust you, and believe in your reliability. Without that, why would they refer you to their clients or use your services themselves?

This isn’t just about one meeting—it’s about the message you send. When you say you’ll do something and fail to deliver repeatedly, you’re telling the world you’re not reliable.

[07:38] If you’re invited to a networking meeting and don’t want to attend, just say no. That’s perfectly acceptable. But don’t say yes and then fail to turn up. By doing so, you’re irreparably damaging your reputation. People will view you as unreliable, and that perception will stick.

[08:19] In business networking, your reputation is everything. If you continually let people down, they’ll stop giving you referrals and won’t trust you. You’ll be blacklisted. And believe me, people in these circles have long memories.

[09:31] If you behaved this way as an employee, your employer would fire you. So why should you think it’s acceptable to do this as a business owner? Respecting others’ time and commitments is fundamental to building a successful business.

[10:15] I realize this has been a bit of a lecture, but it’s an important one. Don’t disrespect people’s time. Don’t make commitments you don’t intend to keep. Because if you do, you’ll find that no one wants to work with you.

[10:47] Thank you for listening to this week’s episode of The Engaging Marketeer. I’ll catch you next time, and hopefully, it’ll be a little more upbeat!