Punctuality is the Politeness of Kings, and a Key to a positive personal impact. Here is one of the easiest ways to make a positive personal impact: show up on time.
Louis XVIII, King of France in the late 18th coined the saying, “Punctuality is the politeness of kings.”
There is a lot of meaning in those words. Kings didn’t need to be punctual. They could show up when they wanted. After all, people would wait for them. But King Louis suggests that one way a king can show respect for other people is to meet them at the appointed time. If this is true for kings, it certainly is true for you and me. I often joke that I am cursed with being punctual, I am never ever late. Punctuality can seem like a curse because so many people are not punctual. I often am the first one at a meeting, a party or event – and I usually arrive well before the scheduled time, its less stressful, you have time to relax or make calls, texts or emails.
Being late is stressful and always your fault and preventable. People routinely arrive five, ten or even 15 minutes late. Often, they say, “the meeting’s not going to start on time anyway, so why should I waste my time by showing up on time” There is some logic to that question. However, it is bad logic. If most people arrived promptly for meetings, they would start on time and the late comers would get the message and start coming on time.
However, beyond that, being punctual displays respect for the person you are visiting. It shows that you value his or her time. It shows that you are a person who keeps commitments. If you say you’ll be there at 10:00, he or she knows that you will be there at 10, not at 10:10 or 10:15. If you are early you are on time, if you are on time you are late and if you are late you should be fired.
Vince Lombardi once said “If you show up five minutes early you are already ten minutes late” All we have in life is time, respect it.
This is simple common sense. Honor you time commitments, and you present as a respectful, committed, organized person. And those qualities define you as someone who makes a positive personal impact.
