Yesterday my new friend and fascination expert Sally Hogshead called me at precisely 11 a.m. for a scheduled conversation. I was impressed. More often than not, someone says they’ll call at 11 and the phone rings 5 or 10 minutes later. I was impressed by Sally’s professionalism.
“It makes me crazy,” I shared, “when I ask someone to call me back in literally 2 minutes knowing that I can take the call on a different line or phone then, and they call back 10 or 15 minutes later and I’m no longer available.”
Sally suggested that the meaning of literally seems to have morphed into something like “approximately” or “close to”. “We need a new word,” she said.
I suggested “literally squared.” (Yes, that appears to be two words, but there is no “squared” little 2 symbol on the iMac.)
To some of my more mellow readers, literally squared might seem like a case of being wound too tightly. While that might sometimes be the case, there is a serious aspect to this idea. We live in a world where precision often matters. From medicine to flying an airplane to engineering a structure, you don’t want to work in loose terms.
In a competitive environment for selling and serving customers, clients and shareholders, precision also matters. When we invest time and money, we don’t want vague promises like “I’ll get back to you” (when?), “we are focused on improving earnings” (what are you doing?) or “this will grow your business” (how much?). The more precise the promise and the performance, the more powerful the value proposition.
Whether or not we need a new concept like “literally squared” is debatable. I’m convinced, however, that we need to employ the power of precision.
Mark, I loved in our call when you invented the phrase “literally squared.” And it’s even better when I read your description of the concept.
It’s become so common to use hyperbole– in casual conversation and in business discussion– that it can be difficult to interpret exactly what’s being said. Not too long ago, for instance, the word “awesome” meant that something was “difficult to believe.” But now, if my kids are any judge, the word “awesome” simple means “good.”
For all of us, delivering a clear, credible, and meaningful message is of utmost importance. Thanks for reminding us that we need to be literally precise… or should I say, “literally squared”!
While many leaders struggle to understand how our nation can be in such economic turmoil, perhaps the answer lies in this latest post, Mark. We started the decline when we began throwning precision to the wind.
It’s rare to find people, companies, employees that respect time, dates, and numbers. “Just a minute” and Can you hold for a second?” are cliche put offs that hold no water.
We’re given estimates to win our business by people who know they’ll never be able to deliver, and we’re assured of good service under the guise that we’ll get tired of waiting in the complaint line and simply go away when we don’t get it.
Precision matters.
Thanks for squaring that up. And I mean that literally.
Eric,
Love the comments you just made, can’t say it much better. Mark, I absolutely love your writings.
Precision does matter…..it impresses, it distances you from the pack in a sea of sameness.
I have made two businesses work by practicing precision. I sometimes fail at it and your post makes me think hard about being more consistent.
Little things make a big difference.