Photo by spud murphy

We all run into the type of person who’s always sorry for disappointing you.  They’re late for a holiday dinner.  “I couldn’t find my car keys.” They forget to pick up milk on the way home.  “I was in a rush, and forgot to write it down.” They don’t show up for an important meeting.  “I was on a telecon with the rep from XYZ Corp, and couldn’t break away.” Sometimes, we might even do it ourselves, and we expect to be forgiven for our small indiscretion.

My dog ate my homework

But what happens when it becomes a pattern, a modus operandi?  You’re always apologizing for something that you did or didn’t do.  Your reputation suffers.  People label you as a person that can’t be counted on, because your track record shows that you’ll eventually fail to come through in the clutch.  If you can’t be relied upon, what value do you have to other people?  I worked for a controller who fired a highly skilled worker because he called in sick too often on Mondays.  How much was too often?  Twice.  I kid you not.

…but at least you’re here

I had a cousin who wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, if you get my point.  But his boss absolutely loved him, no matter how many times he had to re-do his work.  The secret: he always perservered, and left no job unfinished.  He was a man of his word.  He always showed up for work, too, and on time.  The saying, “You ain’t worth a damn, but at least you’re here”, would apply in this case.  His boss valued his reliability over his somewhat lacking ability.

Pull your weight

I had a discussion in this vein with my son the other day.  We were talking about the remaining free agent pitchers, and Jon Garland’s name came up.  I told him that I thought that Garland was just mediocre, but that he always ate up lots of innings.  In other words, he wasn’t in the same class as John Lackey or Rich Harden, but that you could count on him for his consistency.  He would win about 12 games and give the bullpen a break, just what you look for in a 5th starter.  Harden and Ben Sheets, while possessing far more ability, are always coming up with sore arms.  Garland will probably make about $4 million this year.  Not too shabby for mediocrity.

Making the cut

Look around your office.  It might be full of mediocre workers, but they probably share some of the same traits as my cousin and Jon Garland.  They always show up, like cops to a loud party.  They can be counted on, and their reliability may be the only thing keeping them employed.  So when push comes to shove, and it’s time for downsizing, a worker who is more skilled but less reliable might be sacrificed instead of a less skilled worker who can always be counted on.

Think about that before you have to make an excuse.  Like Jethro Gibbs says, don’t apologize.  It’s a sign of weakness.

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