When some one says that, what they are actually telling you is – they are not going to do it. While a lot of people think that by saying this, they are realists, it is far from the truth. The reasoning for this misunderstanding is this:
When someone asks you to do something and you say “Ok, I’ll try” what are you actually telling them – that you will try to do the activity or you will achieve the result. For example: Please get up at 4 am from tomorrow means, you want to do it by setting the alarm at 4 am, telling yourself before going to sleep that you aim to get up at 4 am so that your body clock will wake up, or telling your parent / teacher / spouse that you will try!
Most of the time we respond by the above phrase “Ok, I’ll try” because we don’t want the other person to feel bad. In this process we let down the other person in case they are seriously dependent on your commitment. Can you imagine a situation where you ask the hotel operator for a wake up call at 4 am and he says he will try! 🙂 Will you stay at that hotel again, ever? You want him to say “Yes, I will.”
People want predictability. People want commitment. People want you to do what you say – be it at an individual level or as an institution. Which companies do you buy your important products and services from? You don’t fix yourself with a flight operator who says that “Ok, I’ll try to take off the flight by 4am”, you want one who will!
As an entrepreneur, when you are creating products and services, know fully well that people appreciate your inventiveness, your design, your aesthetics, etc, but people buy products and services to enable them get something done. Hence if you say, something will happen, you might as well make it happen. And one of the ways of doing this is to make sure your employees say “ok, I’ll do it” or “ok, I’ll make it happen” more often than saying “Ok, I’ll try.”
Think about it!
Raj's Lab 