People do not keep their promises. Do you find yourself responding “I keep my promises”? Then you are typical and part of the majority who think that. We challenge you to spend a week recording all the promises you make, big and small, and see if, in fact, you keep them all. You do not have to say “I promise” for it to be a promise; just say, “I will” or “okay” to a request. If you say you are going to do something it is a promise.
Most of us really believe we are “good” people and we keep our promises. The problem is, as long as we believe we keep our promises we do not recognize that we do not. And if we do not recognize that we do not keep our promises, then the chance of getting better at keeping promises and doing what we said we are going to do are slim and limited. Getting better at making and keeping our promises is essential in improving organizational performance.
Learn more about CMI >>
Certainly some commitments are not fulfilled. But in transparent organizations, where commitments and performance is visible to everyone, the level of fulfillment goes up. This is another reason that companies that implement open book principles, like Southwest Airlines, Harley Davidson, Capital One, Carlson Travel, and many small to medium sized companies that are not readily recognized, have a significant competitive advantage. If you are considering a New Year’s resolution for your company, you might consider open book. Happy New Year.
ReplyDelete