Everyone is always on time to meet with me. When they're not, they apologize profusely and repeatedly. Why is that? Am I scary? I don't think so (correct me if I'm wrong) – I think it is because the people I'm meeting with – whether its over coffee, lunch, or on the phone for our coaching sessions, know I have high expectations (I keep my word) and they respect those expectations. They also know if I'm late, they need to send flowers because there's been a disaster!

I recently terminated a relationship with one of my long-time service providers who began each weekly session with, "Sorry I'm a few minutes late. How are you?" Clearly not truly apologetic, if that were true, the lateness would have occurred only once or twice … not repeatedly.

There are two important things at play here. The first one, as mentioned, is respect – which can be divided into two areas. Respect for self and respect for others.

The second important factor is keeping one's word. Boy is this a big one! There is a huge lack of keeping one's word, I have noticed, in the business world.

There is a direct connection between the level of success a person can achieve and how much respect they show themselves, others and how much they keep their word. You may not think others notice (and make note of) the times you're late, miss a deadline, stand them up or miss your target goals. Trust me, they do.

So, up until now you're chronically late, or have other related challenges such as giving your word and then breaking it. Here are some simple steps to get you back on track – and raise your personal stock price you're your colleagues.

Fake it 'til you make it. Pretend each and every person is the CEO of your company, the big client you can't afford to lose or Ed McMahon (whatever works for you). You will have a higher likelihood of doing what needs to be done if you place a higher importance on everyone (including you). They'll feel it and the results will speak for themselves.

Be on time. Better yet, be early. There is a distinctly different feeling when you arrive ahead of schedule and have a few moments to catch your breath versus arriving just on time or a few minutes late and having that heavy, unsettled feeling (and of course, there's always that uncomfortable apology). Note: if you've been late like clock-work up until this point, you'll have fun watching the reactions of others.

Renegotiate. Situation: you're twenty minutes away from an appointment and you're supposed to be there in five minutes. Solution? Pick up the phone and call. Say this, "Unfortunately I'm going to be about fifteen minutes late. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Is my late arrival still going to give us enough time or should we schedule another time to meet?" This is called "renegotiating your agreement" and should be done the very moment you realize you're not going to keep your word (about anything, not just about being on time).