No excuses

Do not find fault, find a remedy (Henry Ford)

   At the time of transfer of the former director of marketing for his successor, he wished him luck and gave him three letters saying that when you face a real crisis then open the first one, that when he got to meet a second  big problem open the second, and keep the third to attack a third critical problem. Thanked with detail the new director took the 3 letters and put them away. 

  Time passed and became the first extreme situation, cornered decided to open the first letter that read: "Blame your predecessor." He did so and saved the situation. Later he found a new problem that could not resolve, so he opened the second letter: "Blame your team." Again allowing work forward. Then came a third crisis that only found the third one as a solution, it said: "Start typing 3 letters".

   This is a typical story that appears in equipment management courses. The first time I heard it I thought of the incredible ability we have people making excuses and take balls out and how much it costs us to recognize errors. 

   This story has several versions or even you can give some orientation depending to the course you want, but I'm staying with this: This speaks of the assumption of consequences of self-deception (How many times self-convinced of the excuses we built?), to buy time wirh excuses base, the need to look at yourself because there comes a time when the excuses are not needed and doesn't work ... you can even read in terms of ethics within the company.

   In chess can fall into this, we can convince others and even ourselves in that game or the tournament had bad luck, I had a headache, had not slept well, had a fly distracted me or that the moon was in waning ... the reality is very stubborn and always eventually agree. 

  Of course, we are human and we have ups and downs, we get sick and can we sleep badly, but these things should not use them as placeholders for not face ourselves. If we look honestly at ourselves looking for the why, we will have taken the first step to improve ... something else usually makes the ball bigger and that the blow stronger reality.

   We don't lose or win due it was penalised a penalty unfair or because someone slipped when launching the decisive triple or because the sun was over the face or blowing wind. We do it because we made a series of decisions and our opponent takes other, as the balance between each other, and the outcome. 

   Chess allows us not only unexcused external review the consequences of what we do but it also allows us to compare the reasoning processes on an equal footing with others: In one board position different people choose different  valid options under its various schemes reasoning, personality, circumstances or knowledge, which can enrich us with these other visions expanding our own views and diagrams.

   Companies spend lots of money on courses for their managers to develop (among others) these skills, both self-criticism as the revision of their reasoning and management processes... as a chess player  I think I have lucky to explore these fields with something I like as much as chess.

The original post was published in Spanish in my collaboration with the website Chesslive.com