I walked into a McDonalds tonight to attempt to buy an iced coffee. I say “attempt” because the store was in an utter state of chaos. Two employees were hurriedly trying to work both the drive thru [SIC] and the front counter, and instead of buckling down and just working through the crush, they were mostly bitching and moaning. I realized, while observing the scene for a few minutes, that their moaning was helping no one, and that it appeared to me to be slowing them down even more.
You know that old saying, “It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game?” That’s partly right. The part that gets mistaken or underserved is, you still have to play the game. You have to participate. Finish. Even if you come in 149th place in a 200 person race, finish.
Get it Done
In all transactions in your professional life, the weight of things will likely rest on whether or not you accomplished what you set out to achieve. Did you get the project completed on time? If the answer is no (with subtext of “because Jerry called out sick and we had nothing we could do”), then you didn’t achieve your goal. Who cares why not?
At McDonalds tonight, I just wanted an iced coffee. I don’t care who called in sick. I just know that the people behind the counter didn’t get it done. (Now, in my example, who cares? I can just go on my merry way. But what about at your job? With what you do?)
Find a Way, Not an Excuse
There are some amazing, wonderful excuses out there. I know because I am pretty darned good at coming up with excuses. At the end of the day, more often than not, the excuse does nothing to affect the outcome. Did I accomplish what I set out to get done? Yes or no.
Instead of thinking up excuses, look for solutions. Just work. Just be resourceful. Think past the hurtle, and see if there’s something else, another way, a wild and crazy path that leads you towards success.
Fail Privately
Professionally, the question is simply whether or not you delivered. If not, don’t use meetings or business calls or emails to the team to explain why you failed. Just accept that you did. There’ll be plenty of time for questions later. Just be graceful. Accept that you failed, and go from there. (Some great resources on failure can be found here).
Improve and Strengthen
Look constantly at your failures as a challenge. Take them apart in grizzly detail, for a short duration. Autopsy the corpse of your failure, and then build upon your strengths. This might mean realizing that you’re not meant for a certain task or position. It might mean acknowledging that you didn’t give it a strong enough effort. Whatever the case, be merciless, but then be practical.
Find ways to improve, and seek opportunities to test yourself in a similar fashion. Don’t make this another excuse. Make it a test bed for how you’re going to attack it next time instead.
Add to Your Team
Remember that you’re part of something, and that the rest of the team counts on you. If you’re having trouble understanding WHICH team I’m talking about, you define it. If you work for yourself, there’s still a team. Because you have someone or even yourself looking at you for success. You’ve got bills that need paying and duties to perform. You need to own up to your portion of the effort and add value to your team.
What’s your take?
Are you accomplishing what you set out to accomplish? Are you making excuses or looking for ways to improve? How does your team see you?
Photo credit, catbagan