The Gulf Coast has begun rebuilding and will likely thrive again economically. And the storms’ repercussions exacerbated rising fuel and insurance costs. But the economy, too, will heal.
My real concern is the rampant display of excuse-making. Had it not been for media exposure of the events and the failure to address victims’ needs, it is likely that we would have accepted those excuses.
Excuse-making has run amok in America. Whether it’s politicians accusing peers or corporate executives citing colleagues, the blame-game is a costly detriment to our growth, to our ability to compete, and to our creativity.
It’s time to start taking responsibility for non-performance beyond the boardroom, beyond politics. Let’s examine the impact of excuse-accepting on a sales organization.
A difficult economic environment, like the one being predicted, too often breeds excuse forgiveness. Yet this is definitely not the time to risk your top and bottom lines in a high-stakes blame game.
It’s not just about salespeople pointing fingers. Business owners and sales managers who accept excuses are feeding this lack of accountability. Their unwitting participation will catch up with them as they struggle with a significantly more difficult economic environment.
Rising fuel prices, higher insurance costs prompted by twin hurricanes, and forecasted higher interest rates eroding consumer confidence are shaping a bumpy 2007.
Understanding the impact of the blame game on corporate culture and ultimately results, and eliminating excuse-making and excuse-acceptance, are imperative for competing in the global economy.
Not just for unsuccessful
The blame game is a defensive response to protect underperformance from repercussion. But excuse-making and acceptance aren’t limited to unsuccessful companies.
Even companies that are meeting sales and margin goals are playing this risky game. They get away with it in a decent, more forgiving economy but when things turn worse, they lack the cultural infrastructure to support continued success.
Underachievers who slid by during those good years despite a lack of personal accountability simply will not achieve growth when challenged. And neither will their companies.
In helping corporate executives and business owners profitably grow their organizations in all industries, I invariably meet blame-game players who are responsible for lack of revenue generation, and thus subject their companies to low margins, reduced profits, overrunning costs and poor cash flow.
Significant change does not occur until all employees at all levels stop making excuses and start taking responsibility. Here are some strategies for putting an end to the blame game.
Identify the players
Listen for excuses like:
• The tough economy is forcing customers to cut back, so they aren’t buying. (By the way, the economy never has been responsible for non-performance; people are!)
• It’s impossible to compete when our competitors are giving away product.
• Our market’s shrinking, and everyone’s cutting prices just to stay in business.
• If marketing (or shipping, accounting, etc.) would get their act together, we’d be able to meet our goals.
• Our advertising is ineffective.
• Training would help turn things around.
• If our policies weren’t so restrictive, we’d be able to better satisfy the client.
Look for a flurry of activity that doesn’t seem to result in much beyond pipeline bloat. In organizations that don’t hold people responsible for results, if you can’t achieve, it’s acceptable as long as you log activity.
Blame-game players are admitting that they don’t believe they can control the outcome. Therefore, they are unlikely to think creatively about how to resolve a problem or improve their effectiveness.
It’s company leadership’s responsibility to establish a culture that rejects excuses and transforms excuses into opportunities for creatively resolving issues that block completion of goals.
Three ways to stop
Here are three rather simple, effective ideas for building a disciplined culture and eliminating the corrosive effects of the blame game:
• Hire disciplined people.
• Implement a “no-excuse zone.”
• Define performance metrics.
No. 1. Hiring the right sales professional is an essential foundation for building success. Yet the Society of Resource Management Hiring Executives reports that 63 percent of hiring decisions are made in the first 4.3 minutes of the interview, and the rest of the interview is spent justifying the impulsive decision. Haste literally makes waste.
Therefore, a comprehensive recruiting process that allows you to seek out top performers is a necessity. Disciplined people who operate with a high degree of personal responsibility seek solutions for every challenge.
When hiring, use a proven assessment tool to identify candidates who have a belief system that supports accountability.
No. 2: Once we start recognizing excuses, we need to enforce a no-excuse zone where we stop accepting excuses of any kind, from any one, at any time, for any reason — even if there is a shred of validity to them!
Ask an excuse-busting question such as, “If you couldn’t use that excuse, what might you do differently to achieve your goal (or solve the problem)?” This strategy empowers your people to be more creative, knowing that the excuse no longer works.
No. 3: Leaders must define performance expectations, measure actual performance against targets, and hold people accountable for achievement. That which get measured gets done.
The individual’s desire and commitment as well as their knowledge and skills determine the support that the manager must provide in order to ensure consistent, successful activity that yields predictable results.
A disciplined culture in which all employees take personal responsibility for achieving results and meeting performance separates winners from losers.
Losers talk about why past efforts went awry and why future actions won’t work, while winners think creatively, take action and make changes.
