Fifteen Minutes Early

Did you know that the clock on Lombardi Avenue in front of Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers, runs 15 minutes fast? In this post, I’m tipping my cap to Bob Green and his December 28 essay in the Wall Street Journal about Vince Lombardi and Tom Hanks inspiring a New Year’s resolution.

This iconic clock is set to Lombardi Time, a tribute to the legendary Packers coach who was a stickler about being on time and famously said, “If you’re not 15 minutes early to practice, you’re late.”

When I was a boy, I ran on Lombardi time. I didn’t know it was Lombardi Time. I just knew that the Sisters of St Joseph who taught me from first through eighth grades drilled into me the importance of being on time. They said it was a sign of respect, and I took seriously the responsibility for never being late.

I ran on Lombardi Time through high school and college and continued the habit as I started my career. I’ve gotten lax as I’ve gotten older. Now, I calculate how long it will take to get somewhere and add 5 minutes to account for travel glitches. As a result, I’m usually on time, sometimes 5 minutes early, and occasionally a few minutes late. If I still lived on Lombardi Time, I’d never be late.

I used to be part of a standing monthly meeting where one person was always 15 minutes late. We changed the meeting start time to accommodate this person, but they still didn’t arrive on time. After we confronted the person, they were on time when the group met a month later but then fell back into their old habits in the following months.

It wasn’t a lack of respect that caused their tardiness. Instead, it was a compulsion to check one more thing off their to-do list before driving to the meeting. The group tried to help their peer see the problem, but they couldn’t or wouldn’t. How did the group react? They gave up on the person.

Have you heard the saying, “The opposite of love’s [love is] indifference?” The group became indifferent to this member. They quit caring.

A lot of professionals are like this guy. They insist on eeking out one more email or phone call before rushing to their next appointment. Or they don’t tell the person they’re meeting with that they need to end their call by 10 a.m. to make it on time for their next meeting. Instead, they choose to avoid what could be an uncomfortable interruption at the expense of their 10 a.m. teammates.

Have you been on the receiving end of this kind of scenario? Are you guilty of being too busy to be on time?

I haven’t set a New Year’s resolution in decades, and this year, I’m setting a resolution to run on Lombardi Time as I did when I was young. I think the Sisters of St Joseph would be pleased.

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(Photo by Violin Sun on Unsplash)