Under promise - over deliver. If you can’t do that, then don’t promise anything. The reaction to not meeting expectations will likely be more detrimental to your relationship than had you not made the promise in the first place.

Why?

Because when the promise was made, the other person got a boost of dopamine, a feel-good neurotransmitter. That’s what happened to me when I received an email saying,
 
"I look forward to the chance to work with you. I confirm that I will review your details and provide a full response before the end of the day."
 
Imagine how great I felt when finally, someone from the firm I have been dealing with, promised to look into my problem and provide me with a response. It was a great feeling. I was going to get a response by the end of the day. Yippee!

The end of the day came and went.

Imagine now, an equally significant impact on my brain’s chemistry, in a negative way. Now I don’t know what to expect. In the absence of any other details, I can share that there was a bit of a threat response, i.e. I can’t trust this person.

The reality is that this person’s trust factor would not have been negatively impacted had they not made the “end of the day” promise. There would also not have been a negative impact had they responded by the end of the day with a, “I need more time” message.

Something to think about.
#work #professional #leadership #customerexperience