Want to Be Taken Seriously? Stop Saying “ASAP”
If you want to stand out—no matter how old you are, what title you have, or what you think your “rank” is—there’s one thing you can do that instantly builds trust and respect:
Stop saying “ASAP.” Start saying when.
We’re building something big here. Big visions require real ownership. And ownership doesn’t sound like “I’ll try to get to it.” It sounds like:
“I’ll have it done by Thursday at 2 PM.”
That’s what pros say. That’s how trust is earned. And in the real world—trust is currency.
When I Learned This Firsthand
When I first started my first business in my late twenties, I became so busy I couldn’t keep track of anything. Imagine someone going through a school cafeteria line with food slopped on their plate and falling off the edges—that was my day.
I used to count the calls I made when I got home late in the evening. On average, I made 100–120 phone calls and received hundreds of emails a day. I was beyond overwhelmed.
A gentleman named Bob Hodson, father to the President of Spike Electric, Robert Hodson, came in to sit with me for a few months to understand the business. He wanted to evaluate and help grow our sales.
On the second day, Bob came in with a Franklin Planner.
A quick explainer: A Franklin Planner is a paper-based system that helps you write down your tasks, appointments, and goals by time and priority—sort of like a pre-digital combination of a calendar and a to-do list.
He told me something I’ll never forget: “This is a reason to forget.”
He meant if it’s not written down with a time next to it, it will get lost. He taught me to write down all my tasks and assign timelines to them—not just for my own benefit, but so I could then begin to do the same with others.
Bob said: “You’ve got to be disciplined with yourself first. Then you can take that same kind of ownership and leadership into your team.”
He was right. It’s a form of selfishness and delusion to assume others know what you want and when you need it done. You need to help yourself by first writing down your day-to-day tasks—whether that’s in Outlook reminders, a written planner, tablet, or whatever works—and make sure you’re setting timelines for yourself, NOT “ASAP,” and then communicating those timelines to others.
After I started using the Franklin Planner, it changed my life. Today, I use a more digital system, but I still keep a notepad next to my desk. When I’m in meetings, I prefer to jot things down—it’s better manners than pulling out a phone. But everything I write goes into my digital reminder list.
It’s critical for me to tell others when I need things done and allow them to tell me “No” or give me an alternate time. That’s selfless communication—and it’s a key to working as a team.
Vague Words Break Teams
Here’s what I’ve seen too often:
-
- Someone asks for something.
- The other person says, “Sure, I’ll handle it.”
- No timeline. No follow-up. No clarity.
- And then… the ball gets dropped.
It creates stress. It breaks momentum. It hurts the team.
Now imagine this instead: “Got it. I’ll send it by tomorrow at noon.” And if you can’t do it? Say so. That’s leadership too.
“I won’t be able to get to this by then—can we move it to Friday morning?”
We’re not kids. We don’t need to pretend or overpromise. Just own it. Be clear. Be accountable.
Communicate Like a Leader
It works both ways. If you need something, don’t be passive. Don’t assume people just know what you need. Say it:
“Can you get me this drawing by Wednesday morning?” Even better? Lock it in:
“Can you get me this drawing by Wednesday morning?” “Yes.” “Awesome—I’m dropping a calendar invite for 11 AM to follow up.”
That’s how winning teams operate. That’s how you take a project across the finish line—together.
Shared Responsibility Still Requires Leadership
Let me be real clear: When you ask someone for something, you’re not handing off the whole job. You’re sharing responsibility—not surrendering it.
It’s still your responsibility to follow up. It’s still your job to make sure it gets done.
So stop thinking, “Well, I told them.” Instead, think, “I led them. I supported them. I followed up.”
That’s what real leaders do—at any age.
Final Word
We’re not here to drift through the day. We’re here to grow, build, and win. You want to get promoted? Run your own crew? Build something of your own one day?
Start with this:
Lead with your words.
Follow through with action.
Be the one people count on.
Truthfully, I was so busy I wasn’t the person people could count on. I was overwhelmed—so overwhelmed it cost me a marriage and seeing my son Caleb for less than half of his childhood because of a split home. That pain became a motivator. It pushed me to get more organized, more intentional, more present.
That wasn’t an overnight shift. I didn’t wake up one day and become disciplined. I started with small things—writing things down, setting deadlines, making fewer assumptions, asking better questions. The more I practiced, the more it stuck. I realized that the chaos I lived in wasn’t from the work itself, it was from the lack of clarity and communication around the work.
Today, I keep a running list of action items between me and my wife, my managers, my investors, and my partners. It’s critical that I communicate with them daily so assumptions aren’t made. We use critical thinking and extend grace, knowing someone might forget, so we give gentle reminders.
This is shared responsibility. Communicating like this isn’t one-sided—it’s not just me telling others what to do and expecting it to get done without a reminder or help. I’m a partner to the people I work with and build with. We’re doing this together.
When I operate like this, people around me feel safer, more aligned, more empowered. And when we slip—because we all do—we call each other up, not out. That’s the culture I want to build. That’s the legacy I want to leave.
Let’s be the generation that doesn’t need babysitting.
Let’s build something we can be proud of—together.
Written By:
– Cole Attaway
Recent Comments