Better a bird in the hand than two in the bush

Better a bird in the hand than two in the bush

Wow! All those wonderful jobs rolling in… fantastic, isn't it? Especially when lots of colleagues are telling you that they have so little work on. A little red flag though: it's much better to have one satisfied customer (who will stick with you) than two disgruntled ones, who start wondering what has happened to the quality that they used to expect from you.

There are no two ways about it: if you take on more work than you can manage, you will start to compromise on quality. And the upshot of that is disappointed customers who, in the worst-case scenario, may take their custom elsewhere.

Before you commit to a project, it's important to make sure that you can fit it in and still have time to rest and relax. If that isn't feasible, then the first point of recourse is to ask if the deadline can be extended. And if it can't, then you could always suggest a colleague they could try. If you don't have a suitable colleague up your sleeve, or the customer doesn't want to do so, then unfortunately there's nothing else for it than to turn down the job.

But at least that ensures you can devote the time and care you need to completing the jobs you have accepted, and that's going to mean happy customers.

And an added benefit is that if you turn down customers, explaining that you would not be able to deliver the quality required, they will usually appreciate your honesty. That underlines the fact that quality comes first for you, creating trust. And there is every chance that a customer who values quality will come back to you for future assignments.