Many people are cynical about business promises and blame individual leaders when commitments are not kept. In this Labcast, Fellows Gregg Fields and Elizabeth Doty explore how systematic factors such as short-termism, complexity, reactivity, and operational issues also contribute to “commitment drift” in business, which in turn damages public trust. Because many individual executives value keeping their word, Doty recommends helping them recognize the challenges and build the special competence required to keep promises as an organization. This interview touches on the seven promise-keeping strategies which are described in a new article by Doty in strategy+business magazine, and which are summarized in this blog post http://www.ethics.harvard.edu/lab/blog/438-does-your-company-keep-its-promises