Unreliable people

Disclaimer: This doesn’t have anything to do with anyone at my company, but it certainly would if we ever employed anyone who behaved this way.

When I was younger, I shrugged off unreliable people as part of life. But as I inch closer to 40 years old, I notice that I’m rapidly losing my patience for unreliability.

If you say you’re going to do something, do it.

If you say you’re going to do something and can’t, tell me.

I can excuse a lot of behavior, but not being true to your word — or being candid and prompt when you know you can’t — is where I draw the line. It’s a waste of both parties’ time.

I don’t know where to place the blame: social media? Cell phones? The Internet? I doubt that people could get away with being unreliable before all of these, but it sure seems to have gotten worse.