Our method
The ERMODA Check: six questions every promise has to pass
A promise is anything someone in your business says yes to: a date, a price, a favor, a “no problem”. The ERMODA Check is how we test one promise, from a paint color to a board commitment. You can run it yourself.
The six questions
Expectation
What was promised or expected, between whom, and where was it said?
Right people
Who needed to agree, and did they?
Map
Who does the work, and where can it break?
Owner
Who is the one named person responsible until it’s done?
Done
What counts as done, and what proof shows it?
Assured
Has the person who depends on it been told, and is it confirmed?
What each question catches
- E · ExpectationNobody wrote it down, or two people remember it differently.
- R · Right peopleSomeone said yes who couldn’t commit the company.
- M · MapThe work moves between teams, and nobody sees the handoff.
- O · OwnerEveryone thought someone else had it.
- D · DoneIt was marked done, but nobody can show it.
- A · AssuredThe work happened, but the person waiting was never told.
An example: “It was supposed to be green.”
This example explains the method. It isn’t a client story.
A client calls: the wall was supposed to be green. The owner says, “I’ll look into it.” Run the Check:
- EThe color was agreed on site. Nobody wrote it down.
- RThe crew lead agreed to it. Was that his call to make? Nobody knows.
- MThe promise went from the site to the owner’s phone to a text. The office never saw it.
- OTwo painters worked that week. Nobody owns the repaint.
- DThere’s no photo, so nobody can show what was done.
- AThe client hasn’t heard back, so they call again.
Where it breaks is where you start
Most promises break at the first letter that fails. That’s the one to work on first. Change one thing, then run the Check again.
We run the ERMODA Check on every promise we hold for a client, and on our own work too. Every month, you see what we promised, what we did, and the proof.