In 1983, I co-founded a company that taught time-management seminars and sold day planners. Our distribution center shipped seminar materials, but frequent errors - missing items, late deliveries - caused frustration and embarrassment. When confronted, the employees always blamed others: incorrect forms, freight delays, or mistakes by other departments. They never accepted responsibility, so the problems continued.
One day, a major client invited us to teach a pilot seminar for its top executives. When the consultant opened the boxes, the seminar guidebooks were missing. The training director was furious and vowed never to hire us again. We risked losing a million-dollar account.
I didn’t want to fire these employees, so I implemented an incentive system: bonuses for error-free shipments and penalties for mistakes - regardless of who was at fault. “You are 100 percent responsible for each shipment,” I told them. At first, they protested, saying, “That’s not fair!” But I insisted.
What happened next was fascinating. They began double-checking forms, verifying freight details, labeling boxes clearly, shipping early, and confirming deliveries. Errors stopped, and they earned their bonuses month after month. It was life-changing for them to learn firsthand the power, control, and reward of being 100 percent responsible.
What these two employees learned is that when they blamed someone else, they were surrendering control of the shipment’s success to others - such as the seminar division or the freight company. They learned that excuses keep you from taking control of your life. They learned that it is self-defeating to blame others, make excuses, or justify mistakes - even when you are right! The moment you do any of these self-defeating things, you lose control over the positive outcomes you are seeking in life.
It is empowering to search for solutions rather than to look for excuses.
Source: Elder Lynn G. Robbins, "Be 100 Percent Responsible"
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