It is pretty sad that I haven't updated my blog in several weeks....okay months! Trust me, the thoughts have gone through my mind, "I'm busy," or "I haven't really had anything interesting to talk about," or "if you were in my shoes, you'd know how nuts it has been around here lately."
The reality is that excuses really don't really matter, do they? Don't get me wrong, I am probably a pro when it comes to excuses. I put off exercising because..........okay, I just do. I find it very ironic that one of my biggest pet peeves is people who make up excuses, yet I catch myself doing the very same thing.
With that being said, in the business world excuses should not be accepted or encouraged. How many times do we see politicians, bankers, and athletes (to name a few) make up huge excuses? It happens daily. No one wants to take ownership and responsibility. We always try to pass the ball to someone else. As I sit here and type this, a couple of questions come to mind: Did you make that call today? Did you send that email you were supposed to send? Did you do that project that has been on your Microsoft Task list since 2002? Did you read that lease you were supposed to read? Did you get to work on time today? I could go on and on.
The point is that each of us are faced with opportunities to come up with excuses each and every day. The question is how do YOU deal with them? Do you face the issue(s) head on? Are you willing to speak truthfully and admit that you missed the mark? I have probably mentioned in previous blog posts that bad news doesn't get better with time. This phrase is probably said at least once a week in our office. There have been times where we want a deal to happen so badly that things could get missed. When they do, excuses are not an option. Someone messed up, plain and simple. Take ownership and admit the wrongdoing. Nothing is worse than finger pointing. It doesn't get you anywhere.
George Washington Carver once said, "Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from the habit of making excuses." Don't let excuses become a habit in your life. Never put off to tomorrow what can be done today.