In an article published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, University of California at San Diego behavioral scientist Ayelet Gneezy and University of Chicago business professor Nicholas Epley tracked peoples responses to three types of promises: broken ones, kept ones, and then ones that were fulfilled beyond expectations. And while its true that everyone gets upset when a promise is broken (Im looking at you, housing-contractors-who-claim-bathroom-renovations-will-be-done-in-a-week), it turns out that overdelivering on something wont make anyone significantly more impressed by your awesomeness. Going above and beyond a promise didnt seem to be valued at all, says Epley.

Epley and Gneezy conducted several studies, ranging from a simple survey of peoples satisfaction after a promise was exceeded to actually promising their subjects something and then seeing what would happen when they broke, met, or outshined it. It turned out that there was almost no change in peoples levels of satisfaction when they were given more than what they were promised. Epley finds this particularly interesting in light of all the promises that companies make to their customers. If you deliver books for Amazon.com and you promise four-day delivery, getting it to people in three days isnt that beneficial to you, says Epley. In other words, this explains why Im only mildly pleased when my plane flight is a few minutes early but Im furious when its delayed.

The reason for this, Epley says, is that promises work a bit like verbal contracts. If I promise you something and you accept that promise, you assume Ill do it, nothing more, nothing less. Interestingly, Epley and Gneezy found that when there was no such contractwhen someone merely hoped that something might happen, but wasnt promised anythingexceeding that expectation made them much, much happier. But when the hope was simply met, people werent as pleased as when it was promised.

It really makes you think about how you spread your effort and how to use your resources wisely, Epley says. If you can guarantee an outcome, youll make your customers (or bosses) happiest when you promise it. But if youre not sure you can do itor if you think you can do it even betteryou might not want to promise anything and surprise them instead.

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Nobody Cares How Awesome You Are at Your Job