ANSWER TO:   I'M LATE!  NOW WHAT??

FOR THOSE WHO MISSED THE QUESTION, HERE IT IS AGAIN:

SCENARIO: You are stuck in traffic, you couldn't help it, you will be late for a meeting....you estimate about 15 minutes late.

Check Out these possibilites:

A. You wait to call after being stuck in traffic for 10 minutes, the meeting has already begun....you call them and say it is because of the terrible traffic you're stuck in, you're running late, but you will be in there in only 5 minutes. You get there 5 minutes later, sit down, and say nothing.

B. You call in advance and let them know you will be late, and the reason is due to the traffic, you give no apology when you arrive 15 minutes later.

C. You don't call since traffic MIGHT ease up and you MIGHT arrive on time. It eases up and you're only 5 minutes late. You walk in, there are stares, you tell everyone about the terrible traffic, but don't apologize and join the meeting.

D. You don't call and only arrive 7 minutes late for the meeting, others are talking with each other, you sit down and say nothing, join the meeting, no apology offered.

What do you think of each of these possible answers to the problem? How would you have handled it?

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............................:

HERE ARE A COUPLE RULES ON BEING LATE........

RULE #1:  DON'T BE LATE!

RULE #2:  REPEAT RULE NUMBER ONE!!

THAT BEING SAID...AS INTEGRITY IS SOMETHING WHICH IS ALWAYS ON THE WAY OUT (OF OUR LIVES)...AND OUR JOB AS A HUMAN BEING IS TO REEL IT BACK IN, THE BEING LATE EXAMPLE ABOVE DESCRIBES AN INSTANCE WHERE YOU HAVE FALLEN OUT OF INTEGRITY (YOU ARE GOING TO BE LATE FOR THE MEETING).  IN THE ABOVE OFFERED POSSIBILITES NONE OF THEM WILL RESTORE YOUR INTEGRITY.  HERE'S WHY...

A.  BY NOT CALLING IN ADVANCE YOU GAVE NO NOTICE THAT YOU WOULD BE LATE...YOU'VE USED AN EXCUSE (THE TRAFFIC) IN AN ATTEMPT TO SOMEHOW JUSTIFY YOUR FAILED INTEGRITY (BEING LATE, NOT BEING YOUR WORD TO BE ON TIME ETC.), YOU'VE DISRUPTED THE MEETING BY WALKING IN 10 MINUTES LATE AND UPON WALKING IN YOU OFFERED NO APOLOGY.

B.  YOU CALLED IN ADVANCE, AND GAVE NOTICE UPON REALIZATION THAT YOU WOULD BE LATE.  HOWEVER YOU USED AN EXCUSE, AND OFFERED NO APOLOGY FOR WALKING IN 15 MINUTES LATE TO THE MEETING. 

C.  NO NOTICE...YOU'RE 5 MINUTES LATE TO THE MEETING, YOU USED AN EXCUSE TO JUSTIFY BEING LATE AND OFFERED NO APOLOGY. 

D.  NO NOTICE, 7 MINUTES LATE, NO APOLOGY. 

IN TERMS OF INTEGRITY YOU'RE EITHER IN IT OR YOU'RE NOT IN IT....IF THE MEETING STARTS AT 3:00pm AND YOU ARRIVE AT 3:01pm YOUR LATE!!  IT IS BLACK OR WHITE, THERE IS NO GREY AREA ABOUT IT, NO HALF PREGNANT AND NO "SORT OF" IN INTEGRITY.  WHEN IT GOES...IT GOES!!  AND THAT'S THE SCARY PART ABOUT IT BECAUSE WHEN IT GOES OUT OF YOUR LIFE IN ONE AREA IT TENDS TO GO OUT IN MANY OTHER AREA'S AS WELL....BEING ON TIME, BEING COUNT-ON-ABLE IS A HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT!! BUT WE'RE NOT PERFECT AND WE SOMETIMES DON'T (OR CAN'T) DO WHAT WE SAY WE WILL:  WE FAIL TO BE OUR WORD.  WRAPPED UP IN THIS EXAMPLE AND ITS' ANSWER IS THE PREMISE THAT REASONS = EXCUSES=MEANINGLESS.  DOES IT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE TO ANYONE SITTING IN THAT MEETING IF YOU SAY, "I'M SORRY I'M LATE, THE TRAFFIC WAS TERRIBLE...THINGS WERE BACKED UP ON THE 101.....(OH AND THE DOG ATE MY CAR KEYS....).....OR.....IF YOU SIMPLY SAY, "SORRY I'M LATE", AND TAKE YOUR SEAT?  ALL OF THE REASON'S FOR WHY YOU WERE OUT OF INTEGRITY, AND COULDN'T BE ON TIME, MAY BE TRUE--BUT ARE NOT VALID--THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "VALID" EXCUSE, IT'S AN EXCUSE ALL THE SAME AND THEREFORE MEANINGLESS...YOU'RE LATE BECAUSE YOUR LATE BECAUSE YOUR LATE BECAUSE YOUR LATE...................YOU'RE LATE IS ALL THAT IS SO.

ANSWER:  IF YOU KNOW YOU ARE GOING TO BE LATE CALL AS SOON AS YOU REALIZE IT AND LET THEM KNOW WHEN YOU THINK YOU WILL BE THERE...IF YOU SEE THAT YOU WON'T BE THERE BY THE TIME YOU INITIALLY GAVE--CALL AGAIN AND GIVE THEM A NEW E.T.A....GIVE NOTICE... SO OTHERS DON'T WORRY, SO THEY HAVE THE OPTION OF STARTING THE MEETING WITH OR WITHOUT YOU, (OR TAKING THE NEXT PATIENT OR CUSTOMER FIRST UNTIL YOU ARRIVE ETC.).   DON'T GIVE AN EXCUSE, WHAT IS SO IS THAT YOU'RE LATE, WHY THIS IS SO DOESN'T CHANGE A THING (OR EXIST REALLY...BUT THAT'S ANOTHER TOPIC), THEN WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT THE MEETING LATE--APOLOGIZE--JUST SAY "SORRY I'M LATE" AND TAKE YOUR SEAT.  YOUR SIMPLE APOLOGY DOES 3 THINGS:

1.  ADMISSION--OF YOUR FAILURE TO BE ON TIME.

2.  ACCEPTANCE--YOU OFFER NO EXCUSES AS YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE.

3.  RESTORATION OF INTEGRITY--YOU HAVE SAID WHAT YOU COULD TO MAKE AMENDS TO THE GROUP FOR BEING LATE.  THAT BEING COMPLETE, YOU ARE NOW OPEN TO THE POSSIBILITY OF BEING ON TIME FOR YOUR NEXT MEETING.

...and another thing:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=T_-jA9wnw-4