By Steve Adubato, PhD

In 1985, Yogi Berra managed only 15 games into the baseball season when he was fired by Yankee owner George Steinbrenner because the Yankees had a losing record. Only months before, as the previous baseball season ended, the often impatient and volatile Steinbrenner communicated to Yogi that he would be the Yankees manager for the upcoming next season no matter what. But that's not what happened. In fact, not only did Steinbrenner fire Yogi, but he didn't do it himself. He had one of his people give Yogi the axe. Yogi, a Hall of Famer and baseball icon, was devastated. He vowed never to return to Yankee Stadium. Yogi would later say it wasn't that he was fired that upset him most, it was how the situation was handled. It wasn't until Steinbrenner publicly apologized to Yogi in 1999 that Yogi finally returned to the stadium.

Like George Steinbrenner, people in positions of authority sometimes make promises and commitments and then break them without having the decency to communicate in an up front fashion to the other party. They don't return phone calls, they ignore e-mails and are just plain inconsiderate. It happens in sales, customer service, employment, compensation and in virtually every aspect of business. Laura Berman Fortgang is the author of "Living Your Best Life" and a career and life coach who has extensive experience dealing people who make and break promises.

According to Laura, breaking promises in business goes beyond being unfair, "it is immoral. When you make a promise or a commitment to someone, you are actually getting into someone's life and are influencing the things they are counting on. Once you make a promise, it gets personal since someone begins making decisions upon your promise. When what you are saying is inconsistent with your actions, you are walking down the wrong path."

Yet, we all know that sometimes circumstances in business change that make it difficult to keep a promise. The money is no longer there or internal politics shift dramatically.

Laura says, if you make a commitment and then change your mind, "you are obligated to communicate it at the precise moment it happens. In other words, speak the truth as soon as you know it." Emphasize that your intent was not to lie or mislead, but circumstances have changed. The key is to be up front in your communication. What stops people from being up front and honest is the fear of getting into an uncomfortable or messy conversation since inevitably the disappointed party is going to ask the age old question, "why?" and you will have to be ready with an answer.

But what about those people who just can't handle the truth? Should you soften the blow by offering vague generalities like "it has nothing to do with you…" or "we just decided to go in a different direction?" Laura Berman Fortgang says that's risky; "It is best to be as specific and truthful as possible. Specifics allow people to gain a better understanding of the situation you are in." The key is to be specific with what you say without being hurtful or mean spirited. Whatever you do, make sure that you make some effort to deal with the situation. Don't leave people hanging. It's better to send an assistant to deliver the bad news than to not have it delivered at all, however, the right thing is to do it yourself. You made the promise, you need to communicate that the promise can't be kept.

Next week, we'll explore what you can do when a promise or commitment in business has been made to you and then been broken.