I’m reading a book at the moment that I purchased at the airport. I loved the colour of the cover – orange (my favourite colour well before orange became the new black’!) AND the title caught my attention “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” written by Mark Manson.
It got me thinking about Blame and Responsibility, and how we generally mix the two and think of them as similar – they are not! We may well be justified in blaming someone or something, BUT the actions we take and the meaning we place on something are OUR responsibility whether we like it or not.
You may have heard of the story about two brothers who were abused by their alcoholic father during their childhood. As adults, one brother is now an alcoholic and homeless, and the other is an executive of a global organisation and lives in a penthouse. When each was asked about how they got to where they are today, each replied with “Well, with a childhood like mine………….”
Each brother blamed their father and their upbringing for where they are today. However, the brothers chose different meanings and actions. One chose to accept the responsibility of their actions. The other chose to hand over their responsibility to others.
Let’s look at blame and responsibility in our businesses. There are many external events be they financial, social, economic, that may affect our business cash flow and success either directly or indirectly. We can blame these events for the effect they may have on our businesses. We can read about it in the media, and we can justify the blame. It is true! They are affecting our business.
However, it is our responsibility, our actions, the meaning we place on these occurrences that will enable us to either survive, to flourish, or to wilt, to close our doors. It is our choice to take responsibility into our own hands to create results in our businesses.
Yes, we can blame an external or internal event. But, what can we DO about it? It is OUR responsibility for whatever action we take or choose not to take. We can choose to ignore. We can choose to deny. We can choose to place the responsibility onto others. We can choose to take on the responsibility onto ourselves – to act – to own it!
Have a look at your business. There most definitely will be external or internal events taking place right now that are affecting your cash flow and your business success. Where are you placing the responsibility in solving these problems, these challenges?
Blame and Responsibility – two very different animals!
Need help with taking action? Contact us today on 0410 819 783 and at ewick@miebs.com.au