"I'll do it" is a powerful phrase.
It's the opposite of "I'm too busy," or "That's not my job." Unless you're responding to someone asking, "Who wants to light things on FIRE?!," then pretty much everybody, from clubs to teams to teachers to colleges, likes the person who quickly says, "I'll do it."
Last Friday, our blog feeds stopped working properly. So I posted an ad to Craigslist looking for a web developer who could fix it. I offered $200 plus a $50 bonus if he or she got it done that day.
I got a lot of responses that wanted more details, or wanted to negotiate the price, or just rattled off their qualifications. None of them said those words I was looking for.
But then I got an email from Brian that just said, "I'll do it." He told me he'd start right away and I could pay him when he fixed it. Done.
Brian didn't get it done that day. Turns out it was a much longer project than he thought it would be. But he stuck with it, worked over the weekend, and about 4:30 on Monday, it was completely fixed.
I paid him the $200 plus the bonus. It wasn't done the same day, but he made my life easier. He didn't haggle about the price or ask a bunch of questions to see if he really wanted the job or even try to protect himself by making me pay a portion up front. He just said, "I'll do it." And he did it.
So while I'm hoping there won't be a next time, if we have problems with our blog again, I won't be posting an ad. I'll go right to Brian. I'd recommend him to anyone looking for web development help. It's possible that someone else may have twice the skill that he has and could have completed the job in one day, I don't know. But Brian said, 'I'll do it" first and followed through.
So, what are you going to say the next time you hear…
"Who would like to show the new kid around school?"
"Who can help me coach at a youth soccer camp this weekend?"
"Who's interested in learning more about the Civil War?"
"Who can staff the front desk at the homecoming dance?"
"Who would like to run for treasurer of the student body?"
"Who can help me put up signs to advertise for the bake sale?"
"Who would like to volunteer at the shelter with me this weekend?"
If you become known as someone who says, "I'll do it," and then does it right, people will appreciate you, they'll rely on you, and they'll recommend you when anyone asks.
Linda says
How timely–it is also National Volunteer Week
http://www.handsonnetwork.org/events/nvw2010
Rao says
Powerful phrase indeed. Thanks for sharing the story.
These days there are more people who want to take advantage of some one and less people like Brian who are willing to come forward and help.
Good Job Brian.