20 Oct Implicit Versus Explict Promises
In a recent poll on Linkedin, I asked people how they think about making promises. Do they think hard about them, figure out how to keep them later, try and avoid them, or only think about the big ones?
Acknowledging the question bias – that people think about promises at all, the results held a few surprises.
Such as the 9% who think they can avoid them whenever possible. Something more than a bit delusional, given that living in a civil society requires a daily hire wire act as both promiser and promisee.
31% think about how to keep them after, which partly explains why there’s an apology epidemic in organisations. Covid-19 derailments aside “Sorry, I know we said X, but then Y happened” is all too common.
Top of the table was 48% who think hard before they make one. What that looks like and what kind of promises they are thinking about is good fodder for a follow-up poll, so watch this space.
The kind of promise is relevant because when we react to a broken one, it can be explicit or implicit. The Australian Oxford Dictionary defines explicit as stated in detail, leaving nothing merely implied. With implicit picking up from there as implied, though not plainly expressed or virtually contained (in).
So, an explicit promise is clearly stated and stands on its own, and an implicit promise is implied or contained in other things.
Explicit promises are easy to recognise. “I will do X”, “I will give you Y”. For example, “We will deliver your parcel within seven days”, “You will get paid $X per year”, “I will meet you at Cafe Z, tomorrow at 9.30 am”, are all explicit.
Of course, because they are easy to recognise doesn’t mean they are easy to keep. Any promise made in haste can be as troublesome to keep as something not immediately presented as one in the first place.
Implicit promises are more problematic, usually lurking in disguise until broken, often carelessly embedded in operations, policies, and processes, and in the language used to describe them.
They are fuzzy on details, but still create conditions by which you feel something should happen in a certain way. For example, “safety is our number one priority”, “we make quality products”, “fast, easy checkout” all contain implicit promises.
This distinction has a material impact on people’s sense of confidence in the promiser. Because while it’s relatively simple to sprout implicit promises, a cavalier approach to them leave plenty of orgs in hot water when what I thought you meant by safety runs into how you do it.
So, wherever possible shoot for explicit promises. Orgs who spend the time figuring out the details of what they can do are less likely to suffer the slings and arrows of unmet expectations.
The clarity found in “I will do ‘x’ by ‘y’ for ‘z’” uncrosses the promissory wires. And while less wriggle room means the stakes are higher for keeping the promise, when I can count on what you say, the contribution to the brand result is more meaningful.
How do you think about your promises?
Thanks for reading