“I agree to go to class without arguing”
I visited my good friend Julie recently and I was surprised to see a contract stuck up. It was a contract between her son and her about him going to a sports class. The contract was signed.
Her son hadn’t been keen on going and often came up with objections. Now that this contract was in place, there were no arguments anymore because he knew that at the end of the time period, he was able to buy something he had wanted for a long time.
What is a contract? It’s a written or spoken agreement that is intended to be enforceable by law. You probably have written contracts with your clients, partners and providers.
It got me thinking about how we could use contracts with ourselves in our businesses. It’s often an unspoken agreement, something you have decided with yourself, for example to clear your desk at the end of every day, file away things, etc.
What I liked about seeing the contract stuck up was that it served as a reminder for everyone, they could easily refer back to it if anyone was not doing their part of the deal.
What could you have in your contract? I agree to stop making excuses. I agree to make 5 client calls a day. I agree to reply to client requests within 48 hours. Anything you want to work on. And sign it.