| In his book, "10-Minute Toughess", sports | | | | Excuses effectively release us from accountability |
| psychologist Jason Selk says: | | | | when performance falls short of our goal. They |
| "...people spend too much time aiming at the | | | | are cop-outs, 'get out of jail free' cards. But if we |
| bull's-eye and not enough time shooting at it. | | | | take our goals seriously, surely we're not going to |
| Rather than placing so much emphasis on getting | | | | give up pursuing them at the first sign of trouble, |
| ready and aiming, go ahead and take a shot. | | | | are we? This accountability-releasing excuse-focus |
| Taking the shot gets you started and also lets | | | | is very often a cultural problem, deep in the |
| you gauge how far off the mark you are. Make | | | | psyche of the organisation's people and the |
| adjustments, but keep shooting until you get | | | | acceptable norms of performance management. |
| closer and closer, and eventually you will hit the | | | | I'm not sure if it's fear or complacency or feeling |
| bull's-eye." | | | | stuck or something else. I do know that people |
| In business performance management, this means | | | | who have this problem-focused attitude achieve |
| we need to get comfortable with failing before | | | | very little, either personally or professionally and |
| we'll truly succeed. We need to stare our | | | | people who have the opposite of this attitude |
| weaknesses and problems and obstacles straight | | | | achieve far and away more. |
| in the eye and attack them with solutions until | | | | The opposite of this excuse-focused attitude is |
| they yield to our intentions for high performance. | | | | not actually an accountability-focused attitude. If |
| But this means changing a mindset that's endemic, | | | | we dwell too much on the word 'accountability' |
| menacing and unconsciously ingrained in | | | | we just deepen the sense of dread that drives |
| management culture: making excuses. | | | | people to find excuses in the first place. The |
| Excuses and reasons are not the same thing, | | | | opposite of this excuse-focused attitude is a |
| even though they may refer to the same thing. | | | | solution-focused attitude. And as Jason Selk says |
| A management team in the education sector with | | | | in his book, it's actually a relentless solution-focus |
| whom I consulted many years ago had set a goal | | | | that's needed for high performance. We don't |
| to grow revenue over a 12 month period, but at | | | | measure performance for the fun of it; we |
| no point during those 12 months did we see any | | | | measure performance to dramatically improve |
| kind of improvement at all. They were noticing | | | | performance, to achieve lofty goals and exciting |
| that other education institutes like them were | | | | targets that mean the world's a better place on |
| experiencing revenue falls as well. They saw in | | | | account of our endeavour. Even though Jason |
| their business environment a decline in the | | | | Selk is a sports psychologist, his words are wise |
| numbers of people taking courses. | | | | for those of us in business too. We need some |
| This management team had two choices. The | | | | toughness to break through to high performance, |
| first choice was the one they made, and it was | | | | and a relentless solution-focus is the new cultural |
| to use the current business environment as the | | | | norm we must practice. |
| excuse for not achieving their revenue target, and | | | | No excuses. Either perform, or don't. |
| giving up on it. The second choice was to see | | | | TAKING ACTION: |
| that the immediate reason for their revenue | | | | Do your bit to help shift the culture away from |
| problem was in the business environment, and to | | | | excuses and towards a relentless solution focus. |
| ask "What can we do to compensate or respond | | | | Whenever you hear someone make an excuse |
| to what's going on in the business environment, to | | | | for underperformance of any kind, practice asking |
| keep striving for our revenue goal?" The first | | | | questions that help them think about how they |
| choice is the easy one, and the second choice is | | | | could find a solution for that obstacle, or make |
| the better one. | | | | some amount of progress despite it. |