Gain the Advantage: Set Your Own Expectations, Pt. 2

Having the ability to shape your professoinal environment in a way that’s advantageous to you puts you in the best position to reach your goals as quickly as possible. Setting your own expectations does just that: helps shape your environment to reach your goals as quickly as possible.

In part 1 of this series, I offered a few quick and easy tactics that can be implemented immediately to begin the process of setting your own expectations. Here’s a recap of the tactics:

1. Produce high quality work
2. Over schedule deadlines, but complete early
3. Test the waters; fail the expectations on purpose

For more detail, be sure to check out: Gain the Advantage: Set Your Own Expectations, Pt. 1 - if you haven’t already.

How I Set My Own Expectations and the Advantage I Gain

Example: In the Office. At work, I’m known for producing thorough, high quality output and doing so with maximum efficiency - you know, the hustler’s way! This doesn’t mean that what I do is always better and done faster than everyone else. Sometimes I purposely lower the quality of my work because I have a solid understanding that if my work is THE BEST for a given project, it will come with unwanted rewards. For instance: having to give a pointless presentation to others on my project because it was better than my peers.  While I’m proficient in this area, presentations aren’t my strength, so it’s to my advantage to avoid volunteering myself into these situations at all costs and lend my  energy where I’m strongest – allowing me to further my own agenda.

Don’t take this as a cop-out, because it’s not.  If you don’t do this already, you should:
-Avoid displaying your weaknesses as much as you can in the judgmental public eye.
-Never avoid your weaknesses – always work to improve them.

Example: With Clients. I always start a new client relationship by setting expectations. I make it clear that my time is spread amongst multiple accounts and I’m frequently in meetings and conference calls.  I advise that I will always follow up with voice mails and emails within 24 business hours and I will provide ETAs (estimated time of arrival) for action items.  I almost try to make it seem like I’m more spread thin than I really am.  This paints a picture that I may not be able to adhere to their expectations of me.

Setting myself up with this quasi negative image (because they are unsure I’ll be able to meet their needs), gives me ample room to prove my worth by simply providing average service. The catch here is that I shaped their expectations to have low expectations of me, because I’m spread so thin.  With this, I can provide average service and still make them feel special – as If I’m going out of my way for them. Considering that average is not in my hustling M.O., this puts me in the zone of exceeding the client’s expectations, and I do so with minimum effort.

Another example: handling actionable deliverables. I provide the client with an ETA on when I will either answer a question that requires research or complete an actionable request.  In most cases I can get this done within a day or two, but I forecast completion for 3-5 days.  So if they request something on Monday, I’ll promise to follow up no later than Thursday. People tend to expect the worst – so the expectation has been indirectly set to Thursday.  Depending on the situation, and how I’m trying to shape the patterns of the client, I will likely get back to them 1-2 days in advance, including an explanation that it’s a rare occurrence that I was able to get “it” done so quickly.  Also I may throw in that I had some free time, which I devoted to get it done because I know how important it is to them.  This method works because I give them the feeling that I went out of my way for them.

The result: their appreciation for me grows, they report positive feedback upward, and I win…by setting my own expectations.

Conclusion

For the most part, people’s only focus is the end result.  So as long as you can produce high quality results, then the variables in which lead to your end result doesn’t really matter. This gives you the room to massage your own road map into play, making your goals that much more obtainable.

Make your work stand beyond mediocrity.  It’s a rarity for people to go the extra step because laziness has forsaken so many; they can barely keep up with doing the minimum.  Create processes to follow, which allow you to work in a systematic format for tactical tasks – increasing efficiency which increases productivity.

It’s to your benefit to operate under conditions that you set for yourself because it puts you in the best position to reach your goals as quickly as possible.

Don’t forget to check out this article that I referenced:
Gain the Advantage: Set Your Own Expectations, Pt.1