Keeping your word

Grandpa Willie was a man of his word. Everyone acquainted with him knew that when he told you he would do something and shook on it, it was as good as done. His middle name was “Golden” and it was known that his word was as good as gold.

In Grandpa’s day, signed legal documents were only as good as the people who penned their signature to them. A person who would renege on his word demonstrated a flawed character and cast a shadow of distrust with anyone who knew him. Such people were social misfits whose disreputable reputation would put the kibosh on any future transaction.

My, how times have changed since Grandpa’s day. The lack of keeping one’s word has been reinforced with several dealings we’ve recently encountered. These individuals’ spoken agreements were as transitory as the air that carried their verbal vows. They disregard signed agreements, and make decisions on what is in their best interest. It’s as if people make commitments with their fingers crossed, or add a mental addendum with the big “IF” disqualifier that allows them to break their word to others and to themselves.

The quality of your business is based on the quality of your relationships, and that is based on the character of you and your staff. Ultimately, the reputation of your business boils down to: Do you do what you say you will do? Do you keep your word?

Advertising legend David Ogilvy said: “In the best institutions, promises are kept, no matter what the cost in agony and overtime.” Of course, Mr. Ogilvy lived during the same era as Grandpa Willie, but could his statement be a principle that the best institutions should still follow?

One way to greatly increase your chances of success is to make the decision to only work with people who keep their word. This includes your employees, partners, coworkers, clients, and suppliers. If you only work with people of high character who keep their promises, you can then make commitments that others will trust you to keep. Your plans will more likely become reality and, instead of wasting your time trying to come up with more excuses for not getting something done, you will spend more time getting it done.

Susan Baile has a great quote we like: “If you always do what you say you’re going to do, I can build an empire around you. If you sometimes do what you say you are going to do, you’re just another problem to me.”

Are you someone who always does what you say you are going to do? If you are, you will stand out from the mediocre crowd and be noticed quickly by those who want to give more responsibility to trustworthy people.

Or are you someone who sometimes does what you say you are going to do? This kind of person is a dime a dozen and can be trusted sporadically. If something really important needs to be done, it won’t be given to this person, but instead to the person who can be consistently trusted to get it done on time and correctly.

Motivational speaker Lou Tice once forgot to mail a package that needed to arrive in Australia on a specific date. Rather than not keep his word, he purchased a $4,000 plane ticket to personally deliver the package to Australia. He was willing to keep his promise “no matter what the cost.” Would you or I have done the same thing?

To determine your level of commitment to keep your word, ask yourself the following question—If you could do whatever you wanted, without any consequence of being seen or reprimanded by others, would you tend to be more: honest or dishonest, faithful or unfaithful, trustworthy or untrustworthy? Deep down, within yourself you may be struggling between what you ought to do and what you want to do.

David Moody said: “Character is what you do in the dark.” In the dark our personal bundle of good and not-so-good habits is brought to light. A central habit is to be a person who is true to one’s self and others—a person who always keeps promises made to others and to one’s self. This is what followers expect most from their leaders, and it is what customers hope for when they buy from you.

Your word should be your bond. People should come to depend on what you tell them. You may not always make the right decisions, but are you willing to always make your decisions right? Are you willing to commit to become a person whose word is as good as gold?

Do we have your word on it?

(Rik is a business instructor at NMC and Janel is the owner of Positively Outrageous Results. They can be contacted at: biz_results@yahoo.com)