True story:

Yesterday, a guy turned up 44 minutes late for a one-off 60 minute business coaching session in Jerusalem. He had taken the wrong bus and was thus badly delayed.

He asked to reschedule. I took one look at him and made an immediate, potentially cruel, assessment. I denied his very legitimate request.

Over the next 3 minutes, I coached him into delivering short targeted elevator pitches that he was not used to uttering. he became empowered. I then asked him why he had requested a one-off session. Over the following 10 minutes, I shared with him a series of bespoke pieces of advice, all the time encouraging him to share more information about his commercial issues.

16 minutes later (and another three for good measure), he walked out of the room confused, shaken and delighted. My assessment had been correct. He had been too protected for too long. It was time for a shake up.

To be blunt: It was time to show him that he is allowed to announce what he is trying to achieve and how this will make his community a better place.

The nightmare of the wrong bus journey had been eradicated (almost) and replaced with hope. That delay had (bizarrely) given his 60 minute meeting an added dimension and purpose.

Jay Shetty’s latest video focuses on this very point. For most of us, a delay is a hardship or even a punishment. Actually, it is often an opportunity for us – to think deep, to appraise and to assess, and then to change.

I look forward to seeing my client in a couple of weeks to see what has happened. And yourself….?