In attending several co-op activities last week, I talked about some principles that I believe can drastically change co-ops for the better. One is commitment. Commitment means you have to do what you say or promise you will do, by all means. As leaders and even as followers, we have to value and be serious in our commitments. Besides, we have to be a man (or a woman) of our word. We have to be responsible and stand up to everything we promise.
Lack of commitment of the leaders in their respective duties and responsibilities is one of the reasons why organizations fail. Co-ops do not succeed just by you becoming an officer. You have to put in the hours of working, learning and more working and learning. Co-ops succeed not because of you but because of how much commitment you are willing to give to what is expected of you. Our country is bombarded with lots of promises during elections but we never progress. The problem is the lack of commitment.
Do not just aspire for leadership positions. Do not become a leader for the wrong reasons. Make a difference. Make your presence felt (I mean in a good way). Leave a legacy. Vince Lombardi, one of the greatest football coach of all time said, “most people fail not because of lack of desire but because of lack of commitment”.
One good test of commitment is the Co-operative Pledge. This is actually a declaration of commitment. It’s more than a promise. One important line goes this way, “…I COMMIT myself to work, to cooperate…” If we only obey, do and fulfill that written pledge, the chances of the co-op succeeding are great. If we are committed to something, we do not just say it, we do it. And by this I mean, we stick to it regardless of the circumstances.
I had a related experience lately about commitment. This came about when I was not able to attend several co-op general assembly invitations. One of the assembly I failed to go is that of the Lagawe Multi-Purpose and Development Co-operative (LMDC). I have to deny the invitation and apologize due to prior invitations on the same date and I have already committed to them. Otherwise I would look bad to those people to whom I said yes earlier.
Obviously disappointed, the CEO Mr. Charles Balachawi, suggested that I will send a message which I readily accepted in haste just to soothe the disappointment. Later did I realize that I have no time to prepare a message because I am on official travel. At one point, I have thought of abandoning this task due to time constraints. Since I already committed to do it, I have to burn the midnight oil to compose one and email it. We should not invent reasons for our failures. We should look for ways to make success happen no matter the difficulties we encounter.
Commitment is not about what you say that matters. It is about what you do about what you have said makes the difference.