What is Your Promise?

On my regular running route I have to cross a street where most cars ignore not only the speed limit but also the painted crosswalk. And since there’s no stoplight at the intersection, almost no one yields to pedestrians here.
 
Which is why it was so unusual on this busy traffic morning for a UPS delivery truck to come to a complete stop. With a smile and nod the driver waved me across.
 
I’m sure she’s instructed to strictly follow all the rules of the road. And that the safety record of drivers is a critical performance metric. But I also assume that on-time route completion is tracked and recorded with diligence.  If she hadn’t stopped would anyone ever know? Would that decision make any difference – other than to slow her down?
 
That is brand building. The behavior that you and your employees make every day creates a promise. A promise of what it is like to interact with your brand. Even if you are not a customer, it gets noticed. Now I have a different story in my mind about the work that you do and how you do it.
 
What promise are you making?