[March 21, 2018] I have a Type A personality. I’m always highly competitive, habitually early to every event, some even say a workaholic. Like me, many of my close military friends had the habit of never being late to anything. We believed that if you’re on time, you’re late. This personality trait made it impossible for us to be just on time; we were always early. We religiously followed Lombardi Time.
Vince Lombardi, the famous Green Bay Packers head coach, was known for his winning at everything. He believed the will to win was an attitude and something requiring hard work, sacrifice, discipline, and habit. One of his requirements for all players and staff was to always be on time. You can’t be a hard worker, disciplined, and willing to sacrifice if you’re late.
To Vince Lombardi, that means being at least 10 to 15 minutes early. If you show up at exactly the allotted time, you’re late. Being late is simply not tolerated. It means that a person showing up exactly on time is not easy to account for, they could not ready themselves for whatever their day is to bring, and they showed others they care little about their peers.
So too with many things in the lives of leaders. As we know, showing folks that you care about them is done in a variety of ways; one of the more important is being available for them in a time of need. If you’re late, you’re probably not available for that reason or some other.
People observe what leaders do and say. A leader that stresses the importance of being early to a meeting or appointment (and then shows up early themselves), sends a clear message; be early and be prepared. Too many leaders think that by showing up late and making an entrance that all eyes will be focused on them. That is true but it also sends a message that the leader cares more about themselves than everyone else.
One of the requirements for our Boy Scouts is to follow Lombardi Time. They know not only what it means but the many advantages accrued from it. Besides, being early to an event is less stressful – at least that is what I tell my wife when we show up three hours early to the airport.
When I read this blog post, I too chuckled. Why? I’ve seen so many folks fail simply because they were just arriving as the clock struck the starttime at work. Why anyone would do this and make it a regular habit is beyond me. I too have a Type A personality. If I’m late, my psyche would make me break out in sweats. Looks like the folks here commenting are pretty much like me. 🙂
I’m the same way and my friends are that way too. We get things done and people come to us if they want action. This is what being on time is about.
We have the same idea. Be early or respect the punishment.
Hi everyone. I’m not late, am I? Just joking. But in all seriousness this is one topic that drives me insane. It matters not the age, gender, where they’re from, race, religion (or whatever), there is a bad habit of being late. Everyone! Not just regular employees and family members but bosses too.
Many good comments here. Reading this post and those who follow makes my day. One thing I think important to add is that any culture has its own way of looking at time. Modern industrial nations depend upon accurate time and its peoples should be putting out an effort to adhere to them when given a task or mission.
A month ago, I signed up for an online course at Arizona State U. They do a great job of putting on a variety of courses. The first thing I noticed was that people frequently miss the start times for these courses. It’s easy to be online for the discussion since you log in from your home. They pay good money for a college degree but lack something when it comes to being ready to go when the course moderator says to. Why can’t they just be on time? I can’t figure it out.
Same thing happened to me. Says a lot about people, doesn’t it?
I got a big kick out of today’s post. Funny for me because people are always late and wonder why they are so frequently in trouble at work or are never promoted with their peer groups. I work with young people so I get to see their common habits and foibles. One thing I noticed right away is their propensity to be just a few minutes late and then not understand why that is a problem. They are also the ones who want to leave work early, take long breaks, and spend too much time at lunch. When confronted, they simply do not understand. This is a sad commentary on our youth today. Note that not all are that way, just many of them.
Being timely, and this is what this is about, shows motivation. Motivation is an indicator that a person will do well in other things too; like doing a good job, taking the initiative, and so on. As a kid, I was always late. As an adult, I was always on time. Somewhere, somehow I had changed and better for it.
Are you having trouble being on time? Some of us do. Maybe we are simply late risers or have a hectic home life, but if we really want to be on time, here are some great tips. https://personalexcellence.co/blog/on-time/
Good site for all to read. Thanks.
In the every day walk of life we all have a basic responsibility to uphold our commitments. One of many is to be at a certain place, be there on time, and be prepared to start whatever we are required to do. I find many people simply do not understand this.
At first I did not understand. Now I see that you mean to show up early and be noticed. Cheers!
Kids these days think that if they just show up, they are “on time”. Maybe we’re doing some poor parenting or our schools don’t respect the concept of discipline anymore but regardless of the cause I remain shocked at the lateness of young people.
The application of this concept applies to more than just showing up to work on time. It can be for anything. For example, if my boss says he wants a task completed by 5pm, that means he wants to see me early so I can brief him that the tasks are done. Then he sees for himself just before 5pm (or whatever time he personally has chosen). My boss, like other bosses, has multiple tasks he oversees. He wants to ensure that they are all accomplished in a particular order so that at some future date, they all come together for some specific purpose.
We used to say “get your ass in gear” and be there.
I have not heard it called “Lombardi Time” before yet the idea of being early by 10 minutes or so is the minimum where I work. My boss wants to see you are present, dressed properly (correct uniform), have all your tools, and are mentally ready. Oh, we also make sure you’ve got your hot cup of coffee too.