What we say does matter. Unfortunately, most of us don't listen to the words that we use. They might seem harmless, but what messages are we sending to others about ourselves and how we perform our jobs? In this article, John Graham looks at some of the words and phrases that we all utter on occasion. Very often, we use these phrases as excuses about why something didn't get done.

 

It's the end of a long flight and an even longer day. You're anxious to get home, even though it will be a late dinner. Only two exit lanes are open at the airport garage and drivers are lined up to pay their parking fees. As you wait, one line moves faster than the other. One cashier handles three cars in the time that it takes the other to send one on its way. Figure it out: One is three times as productive as the other.

The difference doesn't go unnoticed. A few days later, the slower of the two employees is gone, replaced by a faster cashier.

Although getting the job done right is essential, getting it done efficiently is just as important. Fail either test, and a new face appears.

Other clear signs that an employee is on thin ice reflect basic attitudes about work and what's expected on the job. When you hear them, take note, because they send the wrong message:

“But nobody told me” This is a classic, with a life of its own as it's repeated thousands of times each day. Call this the “I'm not to blame because I didn't know” excuse. Candidly, this is among the worst. There are many variations. For example, “Gee, I'm just the receptionist.” Or, “I don't know what caused it. I'm just the Saturday serviceman,” as one elevator repairman said.

In essence, this “anti-responsibility affirmation” reveals how certain employees feel about their relationship to their work. “Nobody told me” reaches to the heart of what a job is all about: Initiative — or in this case, a lack of it. Simply put, “Why not ask?”

“I didn't think there was a rush.” This is one of the more revealing responses. The first three words are the key: “I didn't think.” Better yet, “I didn't give it any thought at all.”

There are variations on this theme. For example, “I didn't know you wanted it done now.” Once again, what must seem like a perfectly valid excuse for a lack of performance by the person saying it comes across to the supervisor or customer quite differently — as coming from someone who doesn't think about what they are doing.

“They haven't gotten back to me.” Whenever you hear this one, you can almost always be sure that the individual is disorganized. It's the “I forgot to follow up” excuse. Or just as likely, it applies to the person who just realized that the meeting is either tomorrow morning or a half-hour from now and dashes off an e-mail or picks up the phone and leaves a hurried message.

How else have you attempted to make contact? Mail? E-mail? A personal visit? Have you been as persistent in this task as you would be in getting scarce concert tickets?

Let's get real! “They haven't gotten back to me” is a lame excuse because it's simply attempting to blame someone else for your lack of effort.

“I left messages” This, of course, is the other side of the “they haven't gotten back to me” coin.

Translated, “I left messages” says, “I honestly believe that my responsibility begins and ends with leaving a message. What else can you expect?”

Let's get through this quickly: Leaving messages doesn't count. It's nothing. Zero. “I left a message” is an attempt to pass the blame to someone else for your failure to get the job done.

“I haven't heard back from my e-mail.” This one is so common that it no longer makes much, if anything, of an impression. Because it's taken for granted, people continue to use it. The response is simple: “OK, you haven't heard. How long are you going to wait? What other steps might you take to complete the communication?

A failure to understand the changing nature of work today might well underlie many of these excuses. “In the coming era, jobs will be tasks you do, not something you have,” wrote Price Pritchett, Ph.D. That era is here; we live in a tasks-completed world.

A word to the awake: If you don't figure out how to get the needed results, you might not be around to check your e-mail.

“How can anyone expect us to” Demands are increasing. No doubt about it. And they aren't about to go away. But if we don't turn it around for the customer, either internal or external, someone else will, and there goes the business.

These demands often seem unrealistic and you wonder how anyone can make them so casually. It wasn't so long ago that someone would preface such a request by saying something like, “I'm really sorry to put the pressure on you, but I really need this.” That's all gone. Nowadays, people just cut to the chase.

“I thought [insert appropriate person's name here] was going to do it.” There it is, again. Someone's always thinking. Not working. Thinking. Well, not really thinking. Thinking that what they're thinking is thinking isn't really thinking. They just think it is.

Thinking involves processing information and evaluating it against objective criteria. So, by anyone's definition, making an excuse for yourself by blaming someone else for your lack of thinking isn't thinking at all. In fact, it illustrates the opposite: An inability to think. And that's not a valued skill on any job.

“I'll do it as soon as I can.” This comment would seem to suggest an interest in responding positively to a request. Not so. In fact, it's quite the contrary. Translated, it means something like this: “Look, I'm busy. Don't bother me now with something else.”

It also represents something of an “It's all about me” attitude that's expressed particularly to co-workers, although it's used with external customers.

A more professional approach would be to ask when the person needs the request completed, the package sent, the letter written, the job printed, or the project delivered. And, if necessary, negotiating an agreed-upon time or date.

“I'll do it as soon as I can” communicates the message that your priorities might be all that's important to you.

“I didn't have time.” This is the classic excuse for everything from failing an exam to not completing a job by the deadline. How anyone dares to use it is beyond understanding. Why is it that no one ever says, “I didn't make time to do it”? Why does it seem justifiable to indicate that no time was available for what someone else considered important, critical, or essential? Why doesn't anyone seem to recognize that there was time for lunch, for chatting, or for leaving at the end of the day before the job was done — and then, in all seriousness saying, “I didn't have time”?

Using these words today is entering the danger zone.

“I'm working on it.” This one is a step up from “I didn't have time.” Little translation is needed for this particular response. It says, “I haven't finished the job.” Or more likely, “I haven't even thought about it.” And quite possibly, “I forgot all about it.”

Frankly, “I'm working on it” has come to be synonymous with “I haven't even touched it.” Not good.

“I know there was a deadline, but they held things up.” This is the old college ploy proffered to professors. “Can I have an extension on my term paper? I had to go skiing.” Sound like nonsense? Not really, when you consider that the professor might grant the request!

Today, no one gets points, keeps a customer, or holds down a job by not meeting deadlines. Period.

“I got interrupted and didn't get back to it.” Variations include “I had computer trouble and fell behind.” Or “I had to attend a meeting that was called on short notice ”

The heart of work is managing yourself. This excuse reveals the fact that the worker is unable to manage tasks effectively. And because work is totally about tasks an employee's management skills are a good indication of their value.

“I'll try.” It's always best to leave the best for last. And “I'll try” is the very best excuse of all. How anyone who uses these two words could possibly miss their intent is mystifying, to say the least.

Work is about doing not trying. There are no points for trying. A similar mindset leads employees to believe that time in grade, in itself, justifies a pay increase.

There's no way to avoid the translation of these two words: “I'll give it a shot, but don't blame me if I don't succeed.” Believe it or not, we are accountable, not for what we attempt, but for what we produce.

There they are: A baker's dozen of effective ways to terminate your employment. The words we use mean something to us or we wouldn't use them to express our feelings and attitudes. Words tell us about who we are and what we believe is important. In a very practical way, words determine our destiny.