Conditional vs. Absolute Promises

Conditional vs. Absolute Promises

The difference between conditional and absolute promises is crucial—and often obscured.

Absolute Promises

An absolute promise says: "This will happen regardless of circumstances."

In reality, very few promises should be absolute. Almost everything depends on conditions:

- Resources remaining available

- Dependencies delivering

- Requirements not changing

- Unexpected problems not arising

Yet we often speak in absolute terms because it sounds more confident.

Conditional Promises

A conditional promise is explicit about what it depends on: "This will happen if X, Y, Z."

This is usually more honest. Most commitments actually are conditional—we just don't say so until the conditions break.

The Problem With Hidden Conditions

When conditions are hidden, you get:

- Commitment: "We'll deliver in March"

- Hidden conditions: If requirements don't change, if the API team delivers on time, if we don't lose key engineers, if integration testing goes smoothly...

- Any condition breaks

- Commitment fails

- "Why didn't you tell us?"

The conditions were always there. They just weren't visible.

Making Conditions Visible

Visible conditions change the conversation:

Instead of: "We'll deliver in March."

Try: "We'll deliver in March, assuming:

- Requirements are frozen by January 15

- The API team delivers by February 1

- We don't discover major integration issues

If any of these break, we'll need to reassess. I'll flag it as soon as I see risk."

This is more words. It's also more honest.

The Trade-Off

Why don't people state conditions more often?

- It sounds less confident

- It invites pushback on the conditions

- It requires more thinking upfront

- It feels like making excuses in advance

These are real costs. But they're smaller than the cost of unexpected failure.

Earning Condition Visibility

If your organization doesn't make space for conditional commitments, you have to earn it:

- Deliver on your unconditional commitments

- Surface problems early when conditions break

- Show that your conditional commitments are reliable

- Build a track record of honest assessment

Over time, people learn that your conditions are information, not excuses.

When Absolute Commitments Are Appropriate

Sometimes truly absolute commitments are needed:

- "We will not ship with this security vulnerability"

- "We will keep this confidential"

- "We will meet this regulatory deadline"

These should be rare and deliberate. When you make an absolute commitment, you're saying you'll do whatever it takes—including accepting significant costs.