The First Person You Have to Hold Accountable Is You

In 1997, Don Miguel Ruiz published The Four Agreements. It stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for more than a decade and was translated into 40 languages. His first agreement: Be Impeccable With Your Word.

Let’s say you give someone a task: “Joe, I need the report by the end of the week.” “No problem,” he says. Monday comes around — no report. How do you prevent this?

Step one: clarity. Don’t create ambiguity. If you’re not specific, people will fill in the gaps from their perspective, not yours. “End of the week” is ambiguous. Do you mean Thursday? Friday at 5? Sunday night? When other urgent matters come up, a loose deadline will slip. Be specific.

Step two: build a culture around commitments. Instead of “can you get that done by Friday,” ask: “Can I count on you to have this to me by Friday at noon?” You’ll either get a clean yes — or a prevarication that tells you something important. If someone can’t commit, find out why. It’s usually a misplaced priority or a dependency you didn’t know about.

Make it part of the culture that as soon as anyone knows they won’t be able to deliver, they are responsible for renegotiating the commitment immediately — not the morning it’s due.

Step three: you. You set the example. Be crystal clear with your words. Do what you promise. Don’t say “yes,” “maybe,” or “I’ll think about it” when you mean no. Don’t say “great idea” and then do nothing. Let people know — and ask for help — the moment you realize a commitment is in trouble.

Imagine what your organization would look like if everyone treated you this way.