Interview with Productivity Experts and authors.

It’s February already, about that time when many of us start to give up on our New Year’s resolutions that we were so gung-ho about just four weeks ago. That’s why the LA Books Examiner wanted to share a new book to help you, your family members, and your co-workers stay true to your word at work and at home.

Written by a local father-and-son team Craig and Jason Womack, The Promise Doctrine is a simple guidebook and system for consistently delivering on your promises – especially the ones you make to yourself. According to the authors, two of the biggest challenges to achievement in our world today is consistently demonstrating ethics in our business and our personal lives, and the renewal and resetting of personal accountability. This book is designed to help you overcome these challenges.

The Promise Doctrine is organized around focusing on the importance of promises, addressing what the authors have defined as the Six Elements of Promise Keeping. By keeping track of your promises and gaining control over what you’ve committed to, the authors believe that you put yourself in a position to be more successful and, more importantly, to quantify your results and see these results firsthand.

If you think this sounds hokey or too Oprah-ish, ask yourself the following question: “When I make a promise, what I mean is…?” and I think you’ll find that it’s a lot harder to do than you might think, especially if you’re honest about it.

In researching the book, the authors asked this same question to dozens of professional and friends, and each time they got a wildly different answer, clearly demonstrating that the dynamics of promise keeping are far more personal and complicated than we might tend to think.

Let’s face it, whether kept or broken, the promises you’ve made throughout your life to others and yourself both affect and impact your relationships, your family, your career, even your health (if, for example, those promises involve continually breaking resolutions like quitting smoking or eating better or exercising more). That’s why it’s so important to figure out what commitment means to you and how you can consistently make it happen.

What I like best about this book is that it’s short (less than 100 pages) and easy to read and navigate. The pages are thick and designed to be written in, and along with the quick tip reminders that easily fold in and out, there’s also a Promise Guide where you can record and see for yourself your results in writing. A great tool for getting back on track with your resolutions, this book is also the perfect gift for friends and family and all of your employees.

The Promise Doctrine by Craig P. Womack and Jason Womack, MEd, MA is available at www.thepromisedoctrine.com. To learn more about co-author Jason Womack, visit www.womackcompany.com.

I had the great opportunity to sit down with Craig and Jason Womack recently and talk about their book and their lives. Please take a few more minutes to check out the interview. I promise: you’ll be glad that you did.