[July 13, 2015] In 1985 a good friend of mine, a mechanized Infantry Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, was “relieved” of his duties as a Platoon Leader – fired in civilian speak – because he failed to refuel his armored personnel carrier (APC) vehicles. Each platoon had 10 APC vehicles and our standard procedure to was refuel daily, regardless of how much they’d been run. He told me at the time; I don’t have enough time to refuel every time they tell me to. His excuse was, of course, unacceptable.
The reason we refuel daily is to ensure that if circumstances placed us in contact with the enemy, then our fuel levels would be at their maximum. The importance of this can mean the difference in life and death, winning or losing a battle, and good leadership or bad. The standard procedure was more than a simple dictate, it was a practical requirement. The fact that he didn’t have enough time meant that he didn’t consider it a high enough priority. And thus the issue for his firing from his job as Platoon Leader.
“Not managing your time and making excuses are two bad habits. Don’t put them both together by claiming you ‘don’t have the time.’” – Bo Bennett
Military and most organizational leaders frown upon making any excuses for failure. Not surprisingly, one of the most common and frustrating excuse is “I don’t have enough time.” Senior leaders, in my experience, never use this excuse because they’ve been trained early in their careers that it does not reflect well upon their professionalism. The best course of action is to simply admit the mistake, learn from it, make it right, and articulate to your boss how you are making things right.
As my coaches and mentors always taught me to never to use this excuse, I continue to pass along their wisdom. Experience confirms their insight. I’m not sure who first rejected the excuse of I don’t have enough time but it became a repeated leader trait. Those who work for me know better than to give me that excuse and have now accepted the fact that this is just really about priorities. If there are any questions on a priority, they see me about it right away.
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