December 22, 2009

Failure: "I Can Explain"


"It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't."

Martin Van Buren
8th President of the United States


And yet so many spend so much time explaining why they didn't get the job done as expected/requested/required.

Why?

5 comments :

  1. My boss used to tell me, "We don't sell excuses, we sell performance."

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  2. I don't think people spend as much time as necessary deciding how much time they will actually need to get things done. They don't intentionally miss deadlines but intentionally or not, the outcome is the same.

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  3. Part of being successful is achieving goals on time and if you don't understand that you don't understand what it takes to be successful.

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  4. Understanding the reasons why something did not happen as expected, is important, but only as part of a process to see that it doesn't happen again.

    If you think the first thing you need to do is explain why you didn't get something done, you're wrong. The first thing you need to do is get it done.

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  5. The best sale's pitch of many people is their pitch about why they didn't make any sales.

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