Everyone claims to have principles and values that they have drawn from their religion or upbringing. Everyone proclaims it loud and clear until the fateful moment of making a decision that commits them to those principles and values.

Moral and religious values are the principles that guide our daily lives and give meaning to all our actions. They are reflections of what we consider to be very important in our lives, in our interactions with others.

Corporate life is often a reflection of the society in which we live. Are principles and values only advocated and practiced little or not at all? On company websites, we regularly find corporate values being promoted. How can we be sure that the company’s values are applied in its dealings with customers and employees? Through the testimonials of customers and employees.

However, if the comments on the web are anything to go by, the testimonials of customers and employees are not always very positive. In a society where opportunistic behavior prevails and the end justifies the means, trust in companies or people gradually erodes as bad experiences accumulate.

One of the cardinal values that almost everyone recognizes as important in any human or customer-company relationship is trust. It’s impossible to maintain a relationship over the long term if trust has been eroded. Yet the failure to respect shared values is a recurrent problem in employee-employer relations.

 

Categorical imperatives

Keeping one’s word, benevolence, empathy, respect… are all part and parcel of managerial discourse. But when our interests are at stake, these values, which should ensure trust in our relationships, are violated.

Respect for values is first and foremost a human issue, before being the foundation of an organization’s culture. We are relational beings. It’s a human need. The reactions of others inform us about ourselves. Not respecting shared corporate values is tantamount to breaking the law.

According to the philosopher Immanuel Kant (18th-19th century), breaking one’s word in business, reneging on commitments, double-talk, misinterpreting a contract, lying about a project or a competitor are all examples of violating rights (and the rights of others). These are categorical imperatives, the equivalent of the moral law for the individual.

 

An example: a question of reputation and trust

I’d like to share a personal experience about keeping one’s word.

I myself used to make verbal commitments to do something without keeping my word. It has to be said that in my mind, it was just a small promise, there was nothing at stake in my commitment. I soon found myself forgetting my commitment. One day, a courageous member of my entourage called me out on it. I couldn’t help but reflect for a long time on her reaction, which I thought was out of proportion. I finally realized what she had said: “You’re not a man of your word”. It wasn’t the first time I’d made a commitment to something that concerned us. In the end, I humbly apologized, acknowledging that “I wasn’t paying attention to what I was saying”. And that “I was nonetheless entirely responsible”. Since that experience, I only commit myself if I’m sure I’ll assume my responsibilities and keep my word. I rarely make promises, and I think long and hard about what they mean.

At Digital.in we like to say

 “We do what we say and say what we do”.

Some people rarely respect this cardinal value in their relationships with others. It’s very easy to commit to doing something or taking on a responsibility, making a promise. But what does this mean? Is it lightness of speech or commitment, inconsistency, complacency, manipulation to please or obtain something?

Whatever the case, it’s important in our relationships to be careful about our commitments. Because in the long term, it’s our reputation that can suffer. It’s also a question of trust. Indeed, failure to keep one’s word can have serious consequences on trust and install mistrust in the relationship.

In our so-called underdeveloped countries, this is a recurrent phenomenon in relationships with people, but also in the relationship between a company and its customers.

The famous Senegalese singer-songwriter Youssou Ndour denounces this behavior in his song Del Tew an excerpt from the song reads:

 “If you want people to give you the respect you want, keep your word…”

In the Bible it is written that “A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches and loving favour rather than silver and gold”. Proverbs 22:1

 

Coping with the unexpected

As a company, we encounter other companies in the course of our business. I can’t count the number of times certain people make a commitment without realizing the consequences. For a company, the consequences are just as important and can go as far as breaking the contract. When creating an offer, it’s important to make sure that it matches the customer’s expectations. However, unforeseen events can disrupt the commitments a company has made to its customers. In this case, the company must provide proof, inform the customer and remedy the situation to avoid creating frustration.

In the relationship between the manager and his teams, exchanges regularly punctuate the relationship. The manager is constantly called upon to solve problems, answer questions about raises, organization, promotions and so on.

As one Human Potential manager put it in an article on LinkedIn

“Beyond the legal contract, the employee and the manager are bound by a psychological contract; promises are rooted in this psychological contract with, admittedly, the benefit of consolidating the employee’s commitment and loyalty when everything goes well. But when the promise isn’t kept, disillusionment can be strong, with a negative impact for both the company and the employee, and possibly suffering for the employee (especially when he or she is highly committed), and sometimes for the manager too”.

 Managers must not manage their teams by making promises, because promises must be rare and precious.

When a promise or commitment is not kept – indeed, it can happen – it’s a good idea, out of respect for others, not to shirk responsibility, but to take responsibility by explaining why you didn’t, or postpone it to another time, making sure you keep your word. People generally have a capacity for resilience and understanding.

Many relationship experts say “the fewer promises we make, the better”.

I’m blessed with two children. They never fail to remind me of my promises and commitments to them.

Picture of Djibril DIAW

Djibril DIAW

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