5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Making *and keeping* promises to yourself and others..., December 28, 2009
This review is from: The Promise Doctrine (a guidebook and system for consistently delivering on your promises!) (Volume 1) (Perfect Paperback)
With all the things we have coming into us each day, it's easy to say "I promise to do x" and then just sort of forget about it. But doing that repeatedly causes your reputation and authenticity to take a serious hit. Craig P. Womack and Jason W. Womack cover this situation in their new book The Promise Doctrine (A guidebook and system for consistently delivering on your promises!). Given my recent track record on delivering on promises, this was a timely (and excellent) read and review for me.
Contents:
Chapter 1 - What's On Your Promise "Plate"?
Chapter 2 - Why This, Why Now?
Chapter 3 - So, Let's Get Started
Chapter 4 - Promise Making
Chapter 5 - The Promise Journey
Chapter 6 - The Promise Doctrine
Element One - PROMISE
Element Two - PERFORM
Element Three - HURDLES
Element Four - RENEGOTIATE
Element Five - TRUST
Element Six - CELEBRATE
The Promise Guide
First off, the Womacks set up the reason why making *and keeping* promises is important. Promises are similar to goals, in that once you make a promise, you need to be able to take the necessary steps to follow through and complete the action. When you make promises without the intention (or the plans) to keep them, people start to doubt your reliability and truthfulness. And once you've lost that, it's very hard to regain. It's best to treat those promises as "to do's" that are not open for failure. If a promise isn't unfolding like you anticipated, then you renegotiate to reset expectations. But you do *not* just "not do it".
There were a couple of elements here that I had never associated with promise making and keeping. One is to view a promise as a goal. A goal is really just a promise to yourself (or someone else) that you will accomplish something. When I think of promise keeping as goal setting, it puts me on somewhat more familiar ground on how to make sure I bring the promise to fulfillment. The other element I had not thought of was treating promises as "to do" items a la the "Getting Things Done" methodology. Mind sweeps to get all your promises down on paper empty your mind so that you're not leaking mental energy trying to remember everything. Once they're down on paper, it's much easier to track each one and figure out what needs to be done next to keep things on track.
The Promise Doctrine isn't some complex system or "way out of left field" new-age philosophy. It's just solid information on how to stay real to yourself and others by delivering on things that you promise to do and perform. Simply recognizing promises in the way that Craig and Jason outline helps you see the problem for what it is, and puts you on a solid path for getting things back where they should be. An excellent read...
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Author
Payment: Free
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Roadmap, December 27, 2009
This review is from: The Promise Doctrine (a guidebook and system for consistently delivering on your promises!) (Volume 1) (Perfect Paperback)
I received the book on Thursday (December 24th) and finished it on the morning of the 26th. (Didn't have time Christmas day to do any reading!) Excellent job at clarifying the processes. I am going to start writing my promises down so that I remember them and keep on schedule to completion.
One of the things I found most excellent about the book is that it is simple. So many personal improvement books lose themselves in the machinations of "the process". This book is straightforward and easy to implement.
I am going to keep it in my briefcase so that I can refer to it when I start feeling as if I am slipping of the path.
Thank you Jason and Craig for an fantastic work!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great book to help you hit the ground running in 2010!!!, December 11, 2009
This review is from: The Promise Doctrine (a guidebook and system for consistently delivering on your promises!) (Volume 1) (Perfect Paperback)
I have read this book once and plan on reading it again next week. This book couldn't have come at a better time as I am putting together my business plan for 2010.
This book really helped me to understand that breaking promises to myself are just as detrimental to breaking promises to co-workers, friends and family.
What makes this book different is that there are step by step instructions on how to make sure you keep these promises. The book is unique in the foldout pages it has, this really helped me focus on what I was reading and not just turning another page.
This is a book that can be re-read every month (it has a lot of good information, but isn't too long at all) to make sure you keep on track and stick to the promises you make.
I wish I had this book earlier in my career. Confident it will help me keep the promises I make to myself and others.
The Promise Doctrine will help make 2010 a great year!!
roland greco
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