9. Don’t be late

Dear Marlowe,

If at all possible, do not be late. It matters.

Time is our only non-renewable resource. It is precious to us and precious to other people. When we are late the message we send to people is that we do not respect their time, and by extension we do not respect them as people.

Strong relationships are not only built on respect, they are built on trust. And trust is built on reliability and meeting expectations. Being late is a form of unreliability and also a failure to meet an agreed expectation. Worse still, it sends a message that we are disorganized, chaotic or incapable of managing our time.

Of course life can get in the way at times — all of us have been late for something or another, we all make mistakes or forget things from time to time. If being late is unavoidable or plans need to change, all you need to do is reset the expectation as soon as possible — when you will be there and what caused the delay — and apologize for the change of plan or mistake.

Love,

Dad

****

Letters to Marlowe is a personal project to pass on valuable life advice to my

See this post on LinkedIn