Keeping Promises
I feel grateful to have been professionally “raised” in an environment that taught us from our first day on the job to Keep Promises.
It didn't matter that we were only 22 years old and, in the beginning, had no idea what we were doing.
It didn't matter that we'd have to write things down in our notebook (another great tip which was instilled early and often) and say, “Let me get back to you.” (Yet another skill that we were taught.)
Even if we were early in our careers and learning endless amounts of things for the first time, we could still keep our promises by writing things down and following up when we said we would.
A friend of ours has a motto for his electrical business along the lines of “We actually show up.”
It's funny, but also a differentiator in the geographic market that he works in.
The question that this leads me to ponder is, are there opportunities that we might have, right now, to keep promises. . .
To ourselves —to act in alignment with our values, to be in integrity, to prioritize the thing we said we wanted to prioritize, to practice stewardship and friendship toward ourselves? (hat tip to Liz Gilbert for that last part)
To others —to follow through, to follow up, to actually suggest a time for coffee if we recently said, “We should get coffee –I'll text you!”
To our company —to show up in a way that reflects the culture we are trying to build, or to have the hard conversation in service of helping us get better.
While I certainly have messed this up myself plenty of times (with plenty more to come, I'm sure), I remain endlessly grateful for this early career advice, which is translatable to and applicable in so many ways.
Have you seen or experienced any amazing examples of “Keeping Promises” in action lately?
Thank you for being here and for being part of the community.
Questions to consider:
How can I keep promises to myself?
How can I keep promises to others?
How can I keep promises to our company/clients/community?
