We Gladly Take Credit For All Of Our Success.

We have no problem boasting our efforts when good things occur in our business models.  We know those good things happened because we did a lot of the right things to do.  We know we are the reason why our business produces the yields we enjoy.  We decide the things that need to be done and we guide the model to the production it delivers.  It is our efforts that drive our successes.  That is how we think.  When things go well for our business models, we take all of the credit.  We have no problem recognizing who is in charge of the decisions we make.  I am.  We know who needs the credit for making the decisions we make and we have no problem believing how well our business model works.  We have no problem dressing ourselves with all of the good reasons we decided to do what we decided to do.  Our decisions helped to produce the good results our business model enjoys.  It is simple.

Did you know we do not carry on the same way when our business model is failing?  It is true.

When our business model is failing we have the ability to string out a list of reasons beyond our control that hinder our results and eventually cause us to lose at the business game.  We have no problem dressing ourselves with all of the good reasons why we cannot overcome the challenges our business must face.  The reasons why our model fails is beyond our control.  We will gladly explain away the unfortunate results with a long list of logical explanations that have nothing to do with our ability to produce the failures.  It is never our fault.

We carry both of these sticks of knowledge.  We take all of the credit when the model performs well and refuse to accept the fault when the model fails to produce success.  It is true.

I am the most guilty operator that practices this process.  I gladly know it.  I know I am wired to take all of the credit.  When I hit a home run it is because I produced the swing that hit the ball.  My name was in the batters box.  The newspaper wrote about how I hit the home run.  It did not make a mistake in the article and put Danny's name where mine was supposed to go.  I hit the home run, my name is in the paper.

Michael Jordan quit basketball at an early age.  He decided he no longer wanted to play the game.  He quit.

One man did not believe Michael should quit the game of basketball.  That man was a basketball coach.  He stepped to the plate and convinced Michael and his father that Michael should continue playing basketball.  The process was a successful effort.  Michael Jordan returned to basketball long before he became famous for being so good at what his specialty became...professional basketball player.

When Michael did his business so well I never saw the name of that basketball coach placed as a footnote next to Micheal's news clippings about how well he performed.  All of the credit went to Michael.  When Michael failed in his marriage game, it was not Michael's fault.  His lifestyle, the pressures he faced with the loss of his dad, the money, the fame and whatever else we can list became the reasons for his failed marriage business.  It was not Michael's fault.  That is how we think.

That coach who saved Michael's career in basketball was not standing next to Michael when the decision was made to quit his marriage.  Think about it.  A great leader does not miss on these points.  A great leader does not sweep these truths under the rug.  A great leader does not fail to recognize who is truly in charge of what you successfully produce.  A great leader stands up to be counted when things are not going well.  We know all of this stuff is true.  It is true and we know that.  The hard part is doing it.  The hard part is doing leadership correctly.

A couple of days ago a young man was standing at the sales register as a customer.  He was listening to a couple of clerks chat about the funny things that happen when they handle money.  Both clerks were standing back to back, sharing small talk as they checked the customers in their check-out lines.  I was standing between the two clerks.  I was having a bit of conversation with each one as they came through the check-out lines.  I was waiting for a break in the action to ask one of the clerks a question about some inventory we were working to correct.  I recognized the young man paying for the stuff he was buying.  He is a regular customer.  His name was Ian.

When Ian heard the conversation the two clerks were having he decided to share a story of his own.  He was working for a man on a cash basis, doing some small jobs for cash the man needed done.  Ian explained how the man paid him $100 for some of the things he did.  Ian said he went to the grocery store to buy some chew and a couple of sodas after he got paid.  He said he handed the $100 dollar bill to the clerk to pay for the goods.  She stopped before she put the bill into the cash register and held it up into the light to see if it was real.  At that moment, she squeezed the $100 dollar bill enough to press and slide another one stuck together into two $100 dollar bills.  To everyone's' surprise there were two $100 dollar bills in her hand.

Ian said he was shocked.  He did not know he had $200 in his possession.  He explained how easy money can get stuck together to the two clerks chatting about the quirk experiences they have had with handling money.  I turned to look at the young man, Ian.

I noticed an old timer standing in line behind Ian at the register.  The old man's face was as still as the reflection you get on the river surface when the wind does not blow, yet you can tell the water was still moving.  His mind was thinking fast while his facial expressions remained quietly reflective.  I decided to speak.

I asked Ian a question in a statement form, "You did give the $100 dollars back to the man who paid you for the work you did, right?"  The look on Ian's face was as expressive as a shocked man can deliver.  Ian was not as experienced as the old timer in the line behind him.  Ian wore his surprise all over his eyes and facial muscles that govern the thoughts we cannot hide.  Ian did not return the discovered $100 bill back to the man who thought he paid Ian $100.  The two bills got stuck together for everybody, including the one who truly owned it.  Ian's face told a different story.  I then said, "Ian, do you understand the laws of compensation?  You need to give that $100 dollar bill back to that man."  His answer was swift and empty, "Oh, I did."  A moment later when the old timer was grabbing his bag to leave after paying for his goods, I quietly said to the old timer, "The young man lied to me...didn't he!?"  The old timer turned to walk away and said, "I believe he did."

We lie when we fail.  We lie when we win.  All we want to do is take the credit for the good luck that comes our way.  We just want to be recognized for creating how the good things occur in our lives when they do.  It is simple to see, yet hard to reject.  Our business model fails because the economy does not allow us to win.  Yet if we grow well during tough times, it is because we are doing the right things well.  We feel like Michael and Ian.  Nobody else deserves our respect for the things we are lucky enough to produce.  We gladly take credit for all of the success we produce.  We think our results are the by-product of something we produced.  We think our good luck is part of who we are, who we guide ourselves to be.

I have done exactly what Ian did, more than I care to admit.  I have also produced the same thoughts about my successes as Michael produced.  I know my successes are performed because of the hard work I have done.  I think just like Mike.  We are all guilty of this process.  It bogs everyone of us down.  Our lot in life delivers exactly what we deserve.  If our marriage goes to pot while our business makes its mark, we all lose.  If our wealth comes to us inappropriately delivered, without proper compensation laws being respected, we all lose.

The sovereign one who makes all of this stuff happen does not misunderstand what is truly going on.  His hands are always on the wheel.  Never once believe you are the reason for your success.  You are not.  You better remember to give credit where it is due.  You must also respect how the true balance of your success must be kept true.  Every $100 dollar bill needs to be put exactly where that $100 bill belongs.  If you mismanage one single dollar, you have the wrong habits in force.  They will always come back to bite you.  I can also promise when the bite will occur.  It will show up when you least need to be bitten.

By the way, how is your business model doing?  Which excuse immediately came to your mind?  Did your face tell the same story Ian's did?  Did your mind tell another lie?  I fight with mine all the time.  It is part of what great business leaders do.  Get used to it.  You have a lot of blessings lying around just waiting to be thanked.  Maybe you need to give some of them the credit they are due.  When Ian shows up to hand the $100 dollar bill back to the man who lost it, what do you think that man will think about how Ian is wired?  If it was me, I would consider hiring Ian.  I cannot teach Ian integrity.  He either has it or he does not.  I can only teach him how to become talented.  Yet I must always worry about his integrity.  Always.

And for Michael, I sure hope he sent a portion of his monster revenues to the man who helped him find his way.  To believe that man did not risk something to step out and work on convincing Michael and his father to reconsider Michael's future, is foolish thinking.  That man risked something.  Michael owes him, even if it is just a simple thank you.

Be careful where you give credit.

Until next time...