Keeping Your Word
Michael Hyatt Chariman of Thomas Nelson wrote - Several months ago, a former executive at our company made a commitment to a third-party via email. It is obvious that he didn’t research the cost of his promise, nor did he get anyone else’s approval. I was not aware of the obligation until the other party brought it to our attention. When I learned that the commitment was north of six figures, I gasped.Several rationalizations immediately popped into my head:
i.The executive is no longer at the company.
ii.He obviously didn’t count the cost.
iii.He wasn’t authorized to make this commitment.
iv.This project is already under water.
v.This amount is not in our budget.
vi.I wasn’t even aware of the commitment.
vii.Our CFO wasn’t aware of the commitment.
However, after a few moments, I remembered that our first core value at Thomas Nelson is “Honoring God.” We amplify this by saying that “We honor God in everything we do.” We then go on to describe the behaviors that express this value. The fourth item on the list is this:We honor our commitments, even when it is difficult, expensive, or inconvenient.”