“I will phone every staff member on his/her birthday.”

Whatever. In the moment you truly mean what you say. Two years later and you have 1,000 staff and it’s impossible for you to call each person and get your job done.

It is not possible that you can predict the journey of your business.

But that doesn’t mean you mustn’t make any promises.

You NEED to make promises. People want you know what you plan to do.

The trick is not predicting the future. The trick is figuring out a way to break your promises without upsetting people and/or breaking trust.

You need to be honest and straight. When circumstances change, break the news.

Admit your broken promise. People are cool with that.

What they’re not cool with is lies.

Broken promises happen.

Deal with them.