Take Responsibility
I had a strange experience the other day. I was talking to a CEO that I have mentored on and off over the last 3 years. I, along with others, have provide him with a range of advice and guidance on how he can potentially grow his business. This advice and guidance is based on years of experience and if given with all the best intentions, especially since none of us are being paid.
During the discussion he turned around and started blaming me and the others for the poor performance of his business. While I have never claimed to have all the answers, i was a little taken aback. Was all the information we have provided him wrong or was something else at play?
One very common human trait is the inability of people to take responsibility for their own actions. People always look for someone else to blame when things don’t go to plan. It is so much easier to look for an external reason for things rather than to do what feels infinitely harder, and look internally at what they have or have not done.
This is no difference in businesses. Everyone who runs a business is able to come up with the perfect scenario. They plan for products, build sales plans, hire people, and so on. Each of these are easy in theory but more often than not fall over in execution.
When looking at why things didn’t go to plan, the most important thing to do is be realistic and honest in your assessment. Before blaming the market, the competitors, the customers or anything else, look at how well you have executed and how real your expectations were. More often than not you have aimed too high and not executed as well as you could.
After a few questions and a long discussion it became clear that his expectations and reality were a mile apart. In addition it became clear that his approach to execution was a little flawed and some of his hiring decisions questionable. While looking in the mirror was a little unpleasant he realised that lashing out at those around him not only was wrong but alienated those that could have helped him.
It is only by truly understanding that we can possibly learn.
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