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What’s the Best Piece of Professional Advice You’ve Ever Received?
My answer actually surprised me.
Looking back, I have been lucky in my career.
Many folks I know have had nothing but piles of overbearing micromanagers and strict bosses littering the landscape of their work lives.
Sure, I have seen my share of pieces of professional garbage during my years, but I have also been blessed to learn from quite a few great leaders, skilled negotiators, and motivational influencers.
So recently, when a person that I mentor asked, “What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve ever received,” I had to genuinely pause and ponder.
My answer actually surprised me.
It may seem cliché, but the whole “under-promise and overdeliver” mantra has helped me immensely.
Sometimes it can be effective to slow-play your capabilities and give your supervisors and clients more than they hoped for at critical points of a project or task. If you can mold their expectations at those milestones, you can make yourself shine.
When you deliver more than what you suggested to a client and something above what they anticipated, the perceived value of your ability or product increases. However, you often lose credibility if you overpromise and fall…