Excuses
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Down here in Florida we have a lot of problems with trucks
breaking down, particularly those used for delivery or maintenance. It seems
every time you make an appointment with a driver to drop something off or a
workman who is scheduled to perform a task for you, they can never seem to be
there on time and blame the truck for breaking down. Does this happen elsewhere
in the country or is it something unique to Florida?
By my estimates, all of our roads should be littered with
truck parts strewn everywhere. No wonder Detroit needs a bailout since it
appears they no longer know how to make a workable truck anymore, nor do the
Japanese, Koreans, or Germans. I would love to be in the truck repair business
as they must be making a mint.
"No Tim, you don't get it; there is nothing wrong with the
trucks, they're just using this as an excuse."
Really? Gee, why can't they just call and reschedule? That
would be more respectful of the customer who wouldn't waste time waiting on an
air head who is probably going to do a ding-dong job for you anyway.
Maybe it's just me, but I tend to have more respect for a
person who admits a mistake as opposed to fabricating an excuse. After all, who
does he think he is fooling? Me? Hardly. In our culture we tend to look at the
admission of a mistake as a sign of weakness. I don't. To me, it's an admission
that a person knows his/her limitations and is asking for help. I would rather
know this as soon as possible as opposed to waiting for a calamity to strike and
suffering the consequences thereof. It is a Bryce's Law that, "The longer you
delay admitting a mistake, the more expensive it will be to correct."
Think about this, which is worse - the mistake or the excuse?
It's the excuse, right? After all, it's only masking a mistake and means you are
wasting precious time trying to uncover it. What's so terribly wrong with
admitting, "I screwed up" (I would use something stronger, but you get
the idea). This is like saying, "I'm human." I learned a long time ago
that nobody is perfect, least of all myself; and, as humans, we all make
mistakes in our walk through life. It is inevitable. It bothers me though that
we tend to cover it up as opposed to admitting we have a problem. Consider this,
the last guy who was perfect, they hung on a cross.
So, you have a choice, if you're going to be late for that
appointment or have a problem fulfilling an obligation, don't fabricate an
excuse; let me know ahead of time so I can plan accordingly. Either that or fix
the damn truck!
Keep the Faith!
Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their
respective companies.
Copyright © 2009 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Tim Bryce is the Managing Director of
M. Bryce & Associates
(MBA) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the
management consulting field. He can be reached at
timb001@phmainstreet.com
