No Excuses

We have No Excuses

We admit when we’re wrong and take responsibility. We meet others more than halfway, putting emphasis on moving forward and fixing the issues at hand.

This is the easy value. Everyone repeats this one over and over again and is often said so much that we mock each other by saying there are “No Excuses, ever!“ The story behind this value is rooted in my early days as a leader at Placers 1.0. We all work hard every day, we all do our best, and we all are committed to doing the best we can always be. However, what we learned is there is never, ever a time to be defensive, or make excuses. Our customers simply expect us to offer high level of service. But this is really hard. We simply need to get better at explaining what we will do to make the situation right. That must be your focus. Put your energy to the fix; not into explaining away your misstep.

Phrases that we can never, ever say again!

• “I did not have time!”
• “We did not get a chance to connect.”
• “Something else came up.”
• “I did not know I was supposed to do it.”
• “Our group forgot.”
• “We have been so busy.”

The point to No Excuses is that no one ever wants to hear them. They are unproductive phrases. They are nonsensical and they don’t help, and have nothing to do with being Outside-In®.

The key is to learn to take fault. That it is ok to fail and to not perform. When you are caught in the wrong it is best to say, “You’re right, I will fix it. No excuses. How can I make it right?” But our customers external and internal can always have a better experience when we don’t defend. When we don’t complain, and when our actions speak for themselves. So let’s never make excuses.

You know what? We found that if we all learn to not defend or make excuses then we are open to new ideas and ways of thinking. We are much better at trusting those around us and becoming more a part of the change that happens to every company. You become easier to work with as an individual, and we are much simpler to deal with from a customer perspective! You have heard we are really easy to work with before right? Well this is a key part of our success. Never defend, just make it right!