There are reasons and excuses. At the end of the day, only results matter.
You didn’t get that thing done because something happened along the way. What happened was a reason or excuse. Reasons are circumstances beyond your control while excuses are entirely your fault. Go ahead, point your finger elsewhere and continue to deny the possibility it could ever be your fault.
If each planned step of a project is completed with exacting precession, the plan works flawlessly. Perfect execution seldom happens.
When results suffer, an explanation is expected. That explanation is comprised of reasons and excuses. To be honest, most leaders don’t want to hear anything except the project was complete. A twenty minute story is a waste of twenty minutes when the objective was not met. They will only remember it wasn’t done – not the details. So, your time is better spent getting to done.
Reasons make you feel better because it feels like you are getting a pass. After all it wasn’t within your control. You believe there was no way to influence the outcome. The part wasn’t delivered in time. The vendor didn’t meet their deadline. The business didn’t ask for that feature. It required new technology.
The result doesn’t change because of the reasons. You didn’t get that thing done.
Excuses are uncomfortable because you have to explain what you didn’t do or did wrong. Excuses require integrity and self-accountability to be educational. Not acknowledging your failures will make you habitually ineffective. I’m sure you can make up your own excuse examples.
The result doesn’t change because of the excuses. You didn’t get that thing done.
Which are you going to use? I don’t really care. Neither is effective. Neither help accomplish the goal. Neither will change the outcome.
I started writing this entry two weeks ago. I have both reasons and excuses why it took so long. I bet you don’t care to hear them.
At the end of the day, only results matter.