Following through on small commitments

In professional conversations, we sometimes say we’ll “check on that and get back to you.”

It’s a graceful way of saying, “I don’t know the answer to the question you just asked, and I don’t want to make something up.”

Many of us make these small commitments all the time. With clients. Managers. Colleagues. Vendors.

But fewer of us consistently follow through.

We don’t write down the question we committed to answering. And we don’t send an email later saying, “Remember that question you asked in the meeting on Tuesday? I found the answer.”

Following through on small commitments signals to others that when we say we’re going to do something, we actually do it.

We can stand out by making it a habit.

And it can be applied in personal relationships too.

When we tell someone having dinner at our house that we’ll send them a recipe, we should send it. When we run into someone at the gym and say, “I’ll email you so we can get together,” we should email them.

Following through on small commitments strengthens our commitment muscles.

And our relationships.

And makes us more likely to follow through on big commitments too.