Amazon is both loved and hated. Regardless of your opinion, you can’t argue they have changed the world of retail, and in my opinion, the mindset of many in our country. I now refer to it as the “Amazon affect”, a transactional approach that I’ll explain.
The first time I recognized it was several years ago. My team sensed something was different, but no one on our team could put their finger on it. Everyone was working hard, but we couldn’t seem to get ahead. The issue was hiring, and we were trying to figure out why with all the job offers we were making, we still had so many open requisitions. So, we combed over data from many months and had an “ah hah” moment. The first revelation was expected, but higher than we thought. When we extended the job offer, 26% of the candidates fell out, e.g., we learned they accepted a job elsewhere, couldn’t work the shifts required, wanted more money, etc. The surprise came when we learned that another 27% of the candidates who accepted our offer dropped out before starting work, for reasons like failing a drug test, not showing up for their pre-employment physical, not showing up on the first day, etc. Add it all up and we needed to find 19 suitable candidates to make a job offer, for us to have 10 people show up for work. It made me appreciate even more the work of our talent acquisition team.
It was the “Amazon affect.” Why? Because I’ve found others, including myself, will shop in a retail store and even purchase the product they are interested in. But it’s a short-term commitment, just a transaction. With the product in hand, they then go online to Amazon, find the same item there, order it if it’s cheaper and then return the original purchase. Our job candidates were doing it to us, in a job market where there were more jobs than candidates. I believe they were interested in our organization and what we offered, many even accepted our job offer. But acceptance wasn’t a real commitment in their eyes, they were still shopping to find something better.
That transactional, “Amazon affect”, has changed how people feel about a commitment. Today a commitment seems to only be a commitment until something better comes along. Everyone is always shopping, looking for something they believe is just a little better, or more convenient, or less work. For most of my career, if someone said they were coming to a party, event or were participating, they showed up. It was a commitment by them and only on rare occasions when something major happened, e.g., a child was sick, the health of a parent, etc., did they not make it. Today a commitment doesn’t really mean much. Have you looked at the RSVP name tags unclaimed at an event these days. I suspect the no show estimate of an event today is 20-30% or more.
I don’t believe people realize they are building a track record for themselves whenever they live up to or fail to live up to their commitments. Your personal “track record” is who you are, not who you think you are or want to be. The excuses you share for not living up to a commitment might make you feel better, but it doesn’t change the record you are building for yourself. When people get to know you, you’re either a person who lives up to commitments or doesn’t. Your “track record” (built by your actions over time), is a key factor in someone determining if they can trust you.
Do you want others to trust you? Learn to live up to the commitments that you make, it’s a place where trust begins.
And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.” 1 Kings 8:61
