There are only two reasons you will fail. That’s right, only two.
Reason #1: A deficiency of knowledge – you don’t know what to do
Reason #2: A deficiency of execution – you don’t do what you know you should do
That’s it.
This eliminates 99% of excuses. You either didn’t know what to do, or you didn’t do what you knew you should do.
The sad thing is I hear things like this every day:
“I didn’t have time”
“I was too busy”
“I thought someone else was taking care of it”
“I was waiting to see what was happening in the market”
“I (insert excuse here)”
I’m not saying making mistakes are a bad thing. Some of the greatest learning experiences I’ve ever had were the result of me making a mistake. I’m talking about deliberate failure. When you don’t know what to do, you will either make it up or do nothing. I can almost live with that. But when you know what to do and you don’t do it, that’s unacceptable.
I encourage my clients to let their employees make mistakes, but I tell them to fire people who don’t keep their word.
The same is true of your customers. They will usually forgive you of a mistake that was done honestly. But not doing what you said you would do, or that you know you should have done is unforgivable. But they don’t usually make you fell bad about it, they just leave and you never see them again.
So, look at your business. Take a step back and really look at your business. Are you making mistakes or are you making excuses?
