Do you deserve an "A" for effort?

The goal of this blog is to help your Friday night dinner conversation exceed expectations. Please print and share.

Imagine you hired a contractor who not only did what he promised, he went above and beyond what he had agreed to do.

Would you notice? Would you care very much?

Every happen?

Psychologists Ayelet Gneezy (U.C. San Diego) and Nicholas Epley (University of Chicago) were wondering how much payoff there is for exceeding a promise.

According to their study, “when companies, friends, or coworkers put forth the effort to keep a promise, their effort is likely to be rewarded. But when they expend extra effort in order to exceed those promises, their effort appears likely to be overlooked.”

Put bluntly: Nobody cares you went the extra mile.

For the sake of discussion, let's assume their research is valid.

If so, here's the obvious question for your table:

Let's think of the many areas we make promises and commitments: marriage, children, parents, jobs, etc.

If exceeding a promise or commitment is likely to be overlooked, is there any reason to do so?

Think about it.

Shabbat Shalom


PS - Not too late to stock up on summer-vacation books and toys for kids AND parents....

PPS - The "effort" star image above is a sticker you can get here.