Commitment

[Bill Metz]

From www.dictionary.com:

com·mit·ment /kəˈmɪtmənt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[kuh-mit-muhnt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun 1. the act of committing.
2. the state of being committed.
3. the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself.
4. a pledge or promise; obligation: We have made a commitment to pay our bills on time.

Now that we understand what commitment means, let us ask this question:

When you commit to do something for your family, friends, work place, or organization, do you really do it?

Your integrity and the value of your words are in danger even if you commit to do something for your family and friends. Beyond danger, when you commit to do something at your work place. Beyond repair, when you commit to do something for an organization, especially if it depends on you to keep it working and alive, and instead of letting someone else take over your position you hold on to it when you know you cannot make it.

A family member or friend might depend on your help, but if you don't communicate to them your fears to fulfill that of which you committed to their expectations would be of not been able to trust you the next time.

A business depends on your commitment to fulfill your part of the bargain and you get paid for it. If you commit to a task and it is not done, the severity might be a hard talk with your boss or maybe a demotion or worst, you could be fired from your job.

A Non-profit organization depends on whoever volunteers for a position to help out get the necessary funds to keep helping others. Once a position is filled, the expectations from the organization towards the volunteered individual is greater and when nothing is accomplished, the organization and not the individual fails to help others for the lack of funds. You can never be fired since you do not get a paycheck, but it is easy for everyone on the organization to know if you are performing your job because at the time of helping others the organaization will have to reject it for lack of funds. It is better then to relinquish that position so that other member in that organization can take a chance.

Sometimes it is a matter of pride that makes you hold on to a commitment or a position that you know you cannot fulfill. Maybe you might be embarrassed to confront the issue, but the most interesting thing is that people will hold you higher when you are honest and step down rather than stubborn and continuously failing on your post.

So said that, what do you think?

[Bob]

Well said Bill. Very few things cause such a negative chain of events or domino effect as failure to follow through or follow up on a responsibility/project/job/duty(fill in your own descriptive). In business, I can't count the amount of times a company has been made to look unprofessional by the lack of effort or commitment of one individual.

Keep up the good work.
Bob

[Shelby]

All I can say WOW...Well said. I don't think anyone could have said it better:) You are a good person and do a great job . I am very proud to be part of what you do.

Take care
Shelby

[Lourdes]

Something else to be added to the word "commitment"... professionalism:

When the word “professionalism” is taken all the way to disrespect.

Once upon a time there was a member who was giving all the power in the world to help out this organization, but decided instead to disguise behind the word “professionalism” to be critical of anything in our organization. The interesting part is that this individual volunteered to become a manager and took the oath in helping out. With this in mind, the organization set up her title and a list of things to do. Not once this individual fulfilled her obligation but instead spent all her time complaining, criticizing and disrespecting all the decisions made by this organization.

On various management meetings the organization had we requested from her updates of what she was working on. Every time she was “working” on something but nothing concrete. Eventually we realized that in order to minimize her role as the non-productive manager in the team she used to turn things around and use all the tricks to criticize and call anything we did or did not do very “unprofessional.” She was more involved in whatever was not necessary than her role as bringing funds to the organization. Her role became of, like I used to call it “make pretty things but not productive.”

There was a management meeting where she complained that since this organization was handled by volunteers only that some would not want to work as hard as if they were working for a paycheck. Well, did she say the wrong thing! I took the initiative to reminding her that I have personally been working in the Corporate America for over 30 years and her comment had no basis at all. I gave her many examples as to how many times my co-workers and even myself didn't want to do a task even though we were getting a paycheck for it. In the end I had to do what I was told because, first, I signed an employment application and agreed on it to perform my duties. I had to remind her that once someone signs on the dotted lines you must abide by the agreement and that this organization was not different from any other corporation out there since every member has to sign a members application with certain rules in order to join. It didn't make sense to me that she was so arrogant and at the same time so naive as to what this organization needed from her and I didn't understand why is it that she volunteered not only to work but added more responsibility to her title by becoming a manager when she knew she would not have the time. She would have come out winning if from the beginning she would have come to us and asked for another member to take on her managerial responsibility. Instead, she held on to that position like it was gold and not once cared how much the organization needed funds to keep helping its clients for free.

I wonder if she had ever worked in the Corporate America. Not her boss or CEO of any corporation would have endured the horrible issues we had with her. From day one she would have been fired. First, you don't come in to an existing corporation and criticize from their business cards design to how the CEO or supervisor conducts business. If you do, you know you won't make it to lunch time! Our organization gave her time to make it happen and getting the funds we needed. For close to six months we waited and nothing happened. Those were six months wasted when we could have had funds from events and much more and got instead lots of headaches! I hope, for her own sake, that she would never have to work out there and that she would continue working for herself, for she will endure hardship from every employment she tries because she won't last long in any of them.

How many times she made us waste the organization's time to sit with her to try to resolve her nonsense “concerns.” At one point after the organization spent its funds to purchase business cards for her, she complained that there was an incorrect digit on her business card and that was very “unprofessional” to hand out business cards like this and that she wanted another set. Now, she was in charge of getting funds for the organization and as of this point or ever, we were still waiting to get some funds and there she was, complaining and demanding she wanted another set of 200 business cards. At that point I had no choice than to explain to her that we've never heard of any of our clients complaining or making any remarks that we were not professional because our business cards were written down at some point to correct or add some information on them. I told her that we were here to help the paranormal community and not to earn an academy award on design for business cards, letterhead or website. I reassure her that she was moving away from the main aspect of being a paranormal investigator and that was to help. I personally never received a complaint from a prospective client that they would refuse to fill out the clients application because the logo was not pretty or the form was offset. What a stress with this lady!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everything for her that this organization did was not professional, but the other members and the paranormal community was saying otherwise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you think about it, the only one who was not professional was her...

In the end she dug her own grave and is no longer with this organization. Since then, her duties have been absorbed by the founders. To be frank, it is the best thing not to have such a critical individual. The stress of “baby-sitting” to check on her responsibilities and the wondering of what would she come up next with her “complaint department” is GONE!!!! Since then, we are a better organization and its current members respect the founders decision and the time we used to waste with this lady we spend it now in helping out our clients instead, which is our main goal.

Usually I don't do this and let it go, but this individual made this organization waste so much time on her without any positive results coming from her that it was worth mentioning so that no other organization out there has to suffer like we've had and by learning to recognize the personalities of some members you will be saving some time in the long run. If you see that someone's not doing the job, talk about it right away and give it a short trial. If the problem continues, just be frank and kick them out of their position and immediately replace them. That would never have to interfere with their original position of paranormal investigator. We're too good people and felt it was wrong to strip this lady from her position from the first time we thought she would not make it and she took advantage of it for she knew how we are. Don't let anybody do the same to you! Now, we've learn our lesson and our personal feelings cannot interfere with our organization for it will be the organization that will suffer the consequences and not us as individuals.

Now we're set back six months and have to work harder to find those funds and events to continue working for this community. Even so, we just came back from an investigation 300+ miles away from home and everyone of us, including the South and West Florida Divisions individually financed this trip for the sake of helping these clients so far away and in need of our help. This is what our organization is all about...

Lourdes

[Tim M]

Great post Bill. I not long ago felt commited to a job I was in. The Industrial based job was very stressful. Most of the other workers were intolerable to work with. But I felt commited to doing my job. That was until I started getting really bad back pain and really bad lethargy. I couldn't barely stay concious. So I went to my doctor and he said I had shingles and had to take time off work as the stress from work was just making it worse. The doctor also told me that after I recover I have to try and avoid become highly stressed again. Otherwise the shingles will return. And so while I was recovering at home I remember feeling guilty for not being able to help my fellow workers. My parents had a talk with me about work. I remember dad saying the most important thing is your health. So I decided that my health more important than the money I recieve from my job. So I then decided to call it quits. I'm now studying to get a better job.

[Bill Metz]

First, we would like to wish you good health and that soon you're able to find that job.

Exactly, whatever you do in life if you commit you must either step aside or continue. It doesn't matter what you do in life; volunteering or working for a paycheck, ethics is universal.

Sometimes I've lost the opportunity of a job because I've realized that I would not be performing as the employer would want me or I would not be able to be committed on weekends and the like. Others, not like you or me, would have taken the job on the spot and don't care if they had to leave it a day later for another one.

I would personally like to thank those who still have ethical values and always think to do the right thing!

Take care and rest,

Lourdes