Don’t Blame External Forces

One of my early mentors
coached me
to NEVER blame failures
on external forces.

He said
if results were
100% due to
external forces,
companies wouldn’t need me.
I couldn’t make
a difference
in their results.

So I might mention
external forces
but I would frame it
as,
for example,
“I mishandled our response
to the increase in interest rates.
I should have done X and Y.”

Taking responsibility
and stressing that I learned
from my mistakes
makes me appear
MORE valuable,
not less.

Gregory Ciotti
shares

“When blaming external forces
(even if they happened to be true),
companies gave skeptics
a reason to view them
as not having the ability
to fix the problem,
in addition to the consideration
that they might just be
making excuses.”

Mention external forces
but don’t blame them.

You’re a freakin’
bad a$$.

You COULD have responded
differently
to minimize or eliminate
the impact
of external forces.
And next time,
you will.