Communicate Broken Promises
To mitigate the pain or peril of a broken promise, do everything you can to communicate. Being disappointed by a broken promise is bad enough; being disappointed and totally neglected flies far beyond general disrespect. A phone call, a text, anything that acknowledges the broken promise goes a long way. Failure to address the issue only makes you look like a fool and will warrant total lack of forgiveness or empathy from those disappointed.
Any promise you make, no matter how small, warrants acknowledgement. Showing up at the time you said you would, finishing the task you said you would, or delivering the quality you said you would are all things that take enough foresight to know when you might be at risk of failing to deliver. If you’re running late in traffic, haven’t started the task, or are struggling with the project at hand, best to give the receiving party a heads up. If you cannot do it in advance, at least acknowledge it in the moment. And, hell, a belated apology is better than pretending like it’s not a big deal.
Don’t dick people around. Get on the phone and at least try to help them adjust their expectations before letting it blow up in their faces. If they’re going to be disappointed anyway, better that they could prepare for that and have space to appreciate your honesty.
