Integrity When You Know You Cannot Keep the Promise

Reliability matters because other people organize action around what we say we will do.

But circumstances can change after a promise is made.

Illness, emergencies, new information, conflicting obligations, or events outside our control can make the original promise impossible or irresponsible to keep.

That does not make integrity irrelevant.

Work associated with Werner Erhard distinguishes keeping a promise from honoring one's word.

The distinction should not be used as a loophole for casual unreliability.

It points toward what remains available when the promised action will not happen.

Communicate as soon as the problem is known.

Acknowledge the impact on people who relied on the promise.

Do not hide behind the circumstance.

Renegotiate where renegotiation is possible.

Repair what can be repaired.

Learn whether the original commitment was made carelessly.

Keeping the promise is often the cleanest fulfillment.

When it cannot be kept, silence and last-minute disappearance add a second failure.

Integrity then becomes visible in how honestly and promptly the broken commitment is handled.

Circumstances may change what we can deliver.

They do not remove the responsibility to deal with our word.