In the quest to improve performance we’ve gone through several useful philosophies about what to manage, specifically we’ve been told to practice managing:

• time
• people
• projects
• energy

These are all valuable management philosophies but they do not acknowledge the most fundamental practice: the practice of managing commitments.

What are commitments?

Commitments take several forms e.g. promises, oaths, vows, pledges, duties, and obligations, but essentially they all come down to an agreement to produce a situation between two or more people. Note: I speak of situations as not just a particular circumstance, but any thing, outcome, feeling, agreement, understanding, that might be desirable to take care of some concern.

Why are commitments important?

Commitment provides the mechanism of accomplishment

Commitments are the only means by which we can help and support other human beings who cannot accomplish their goals or take care of what they care about on their own; and they, us.

We all need the help and support of other human beings to take care of what matters to us. That’s why employers hire employees, why tennis players need ball boys and girls, golfers need caddies, sportspersons (sporters anyone?) need coaches, and why players (in sports or business) need team mates or colleagues.

We simply cannot live on a grand scale without other people producing situations (including things like chairs and cars) that we either don’t have the time, willingness or competence to produce.

Without commitment nothing works

Consider all of the things that work in your life, whether it be turning on the light switch, watching your favorite TV show, getting operated on, getting your eyes lasiked, driving your car, calling 911 or 999 or whatever emergency number you use in your country. Everything that works or doesn’t work in your life, the very quality of your life is directly correlated to individuals and organizations making and keeping commitments.

When commitments are made, expectations are set. When commitments are kept things work seamlessly and life is great. When commitments are broken, people’s expectations go unfulfilled, and people are not able to take care of what matters to them. When commitments are not kept opportunities are lost, breakdowns are created or exacerbated in personal and business life.

The cost of broken commitments is high to the group it affects

There are very tangible and measurable costs to broken commitments: time, money and trust. The cost in time and money is incurred to the project, people or situation that the commitment was intended to affect. If you fail to carry out a commitment, lets say to secure a venue for an important meeting, then that meeting and the other participants are adversely affected. They incur the cost in time and money, for an unfulfilled or delayed outcome etc.

…and is even higher to you

The elimination of trust as a cost of that broken commitments is a cost that YOU incur.

When you break your commitments, your trustworthiness as a measure of your competence and reliability to create the situations you committed to produce goes down, and this affects your social and professional standing.

Remember we are all looking for the best help and support to take care of what we value. When you break your commitments you signal that you are not good help!

It’s like when you were a kid and picking sides for your street game of cricket, stickball, football or whatever. Who did you pick first?

The best player!

Who did you pick last?

The worst player!

Life unfolds a bit more slowly than the street games you played as a kid, and it takes weeks, months or sometimes years to identify the best, average and worst players.

The best players are the ones who keep their commitments and the worst players are the ones that don’t reliably deliver on what they promise.

But apart from the speed with which real life unfolds, the same street game principles apply: the best players get the opportunities and picked for the top jobs, plum projects, promotions, bonuses etc., and the worst players get left on the sidelines.

Are you managing your commitments?

Click here to learn how to improve your team’s capacity to make and keep commitments