How many times do you catch yourself not being able to follow through with commitments you have made?

Every day during my work I see that good people have great intentions but they never follow thought with their commitment.

Just again today I talked with someone on the West Coast that had been hired over 10 days ago to accomplish a very simple task that only takes a few days to accomplish and today I find out the task has not even been started. I guess this person had great intentions but their actions speak louder.

When you cannot follow thought with a commitment you have made, what do you do? Just ignore it? Do you ask for help? Do you communicate your issue?

First; do not ignore it communicate immediately. We all normally know when we have over booked ourselves right from the beginning. Communicate the plight right from the beginning don’t wait until the last minute. It looks better to communicate it right away than waiting until the last minute.

Second; offer a solution. You made the commitment, so be now part of the solution and not the potential problem.

Now look at the total situation:

What do I need to do to be able to follow through with commitments I have made?
Do I need to hire more people?
Do I need to cut down on the work I am doing?
Do I need to ask for help?

Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold – but so does a hard-boiled egg. ~Author Unknown