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Excuses and Explanations

Guest post by: Jim Stovall

Article Overview: None of us are perfect; therefore, we all must deal with people in our personal and professional lives, realizing that they are not perfect. The challenge arises when we try to determine how best to deal with one another's imperfections. All we can expect from ourselves and others is that we give our best effort. When our best efforts fall short, as they will do from time to time, we must first acknowledge the deficiency and the fact that it has hurt someone else. Next, we must do all in our power to remedy the situation. And, finally, we must take steps so that it won't happen again.

Excuses and Explanations

None of us are perfect; therefore, we all must deal with people in our personal and professional lives,

realizing that they are not perfect. The challenge arises when we try to determine how best to deal with

one another's imperfections. All we can expect from ourselves and others is that we give our best effort. When our best efforts fall

short, as they will do from time to time, we must first acknowledge the deficiency and the fact that it

has hurt someone else. Next, we must do all in our power to remedy the situation. And, finally, we must

take steps so that it won't happen again.

If someone's best efforts too often result in failure for them and those around them, we would have to

examine whether or not that person is pursuing the appropriate life goal.

As a blind person myself, my best efforts in driving a cab for a living would rapidly and repeatedly

meet with disaster; therefore, I cannot simply acknowledge the situation, remedy the damage, and avoid

the problem in the future. I must, instead, seek a new direction where my best efforts will meet with

success for me and satisfaction for those with whom I deal on a consistent basis.

Recently, I have had the misfortune of dealing with an organization that, too often, fails to meet the

expectations of its customers. This organization's corporate culture has evolved into a series of excuses.

The challenge arises when excuses become the norm and not the exception.

For this type of performance, no excuse will suffice. Instead, if you're dealing with an individual or

an organization that has a history--an ongoing culture of meeting and exceeding expectations--when they

occasionally fall short of the mark, a reasonable explanation will be more than satisfactory. This

explanation would acknowledge the incident, clean up the damage, and describe the steps that have been

taken to insure a satisfactory outcome in the future.

Best efforts that repeatedly meet with success really need no explanation. And continual failure, due

to lack of effort and commitment, cannot tolerate the best of excuses.

As you go through your day today, give everything your best effort while accepting and dealing with your

human failings, and require everyone else in your world to do the same.

Today's the day!

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Article Tags: excuses in business, imperfections, jim stovall, performance



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