Say:Do Ratio - How To Be More Reliable

The Say:Do ratio is a concept that seeks to rate a person’s reliability by comparing what they say they’ll do to what they actually do: The ‘Say:Do' ratio. It’s all about keeping your promises and doing what you say you’ll do. Once you do what you say you’ll do consistently, stakeholders will see you as reliable and are better able to count on you.

Whenever you throw out statements like, “I’ll get that email across to you”, “I’ll call you later", no matter how casually,  and you don’t follow through on what you say, the people you work with will tend to take you a little less seriously. Keeping your word goes a long way to helping you build integrity, which is necessary for trust. Before you commit to anything, always ask yourself whether or not it will become another empty promise. The key take-away here is never to make promises when you have no control, not to say “yes” to every request, and to actually follow through whenever you make a promise.

Also, having the guts to say “no” whenever you are under pressure and are unable to take on additional tasks can help reduce your commitments so you can better prioritize and fulfill your promises.

So, here are some quick habits that can help you increase your Say:Do ratio:

•          Keep a tab of any promises you make and assign deadlines to them
•          Track your progress and keep stakeholders informed so that they know you are on top of their requests.

What's your Say:Do ratio? Write what you think it is, stick it on your back and then have 4-5 people write on your back what they think it is. You might be surprised at the results.