What if we did not allow early failure to become enduring failure?  We all try.  But do we try long enough?  Do we persevere?

What makes some persevere and others quit?  For a lot of us, it is the habit of making excuses.  The willingness to make excuses stops many people from going past Plan A or Plan B.

Too often, once we have tried Plan A or Plan B that seems good enough.  What about Plan C, D, E, F, G…?

No Excuses!

No Excuses!

It’s no use saying, “We are doing our best.” You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.

– Winston Churchill

Recently, in front an audience of 700 people at the annual Leadercast leadership event, I described West Point’s method of breaking my habit of quitting too early. A freshman at West Pont is only allowed four responses when addressing an upperclassman.

  1. Yes, sir.
  2. No, sir.
  3. No excuse, sir.
  4. Sir, I do not understand.

I go into more depth on these responses in this previous blog:  West Point:  How Leaders Seize Responsibility

Eliminating Excuses

By eliminating excuses from a future Army officer’s life, West Point insures the young men and women leading our soldiers never quit after Plan A or Plan B fails.

When a leader knows she is ultimately responsible for the success and failure of her team, no matter what, the leader never stops looking for a solution. The “Can Do” attitude of our military proves that excuses hold us all back.

  • Unexpected meetings? No Excuse!
  • Bad traffic? No Excuse!
  • Computer issues? No Excuse!
  • Lack of budget? No Excuse!
  • My boss? No Excuse!
  • My team? No Excuse!
  • Politics? No Excuse!
  • Regulations? No Excuse!
  • My parents? No Excuse!
  • My teachers? No Excuse!

If I know I can make an excuse after early failure, I have given myself a safety net that destroys perseverance. If I allow myself, my team or my children to consistently make excuses, early failure becomes enduring failure.

The Bottom Line:

I believe that the Honor Code and “No Excuse, sir” are the two primary character shaping tools that West Point utilizes to shape good young men and women into exceptional leaders of character dedicated to selfless service to our nation.

This is a huge lesson for all of us. How much more can I, my team, or my children accomplish if we persevere beyond the norm of Plan A and Plan B? What if we all believed that the safety net of an excuse was gone?

Excuses hold us back. Excuses deflect our responsibility for success to things that are seemingly out of our control. Excuses cause most of us to quit and therefore stagnate.

But, if we do what Winston Churchill suggests and go beyond Doing our best, and continue beyond that to Plan C – Z until we succeed, what will we become?

  • People that make things happen.
  • People that can be counted on.
  • People others trust.
  • People that accomplish more than the rest of the crowd.
  • People that persevere.

If I want to be described that way, I must quit the habit of making excuses.

Question:

What excuses are your favorite excuses for quitting too early?