dispatches from the new world of work

100 Ways to Succeed #8:

Foul up. Fess up. Fast. Fastidiously.

SHIT HAPPENS.
SHIT HAPPENS TO YOU AND ME BECAUSE WE SOMETIMES DO STUPID SHIT.

WE RARELY GET IN TROUBLE FOR THE SHIT THAT HAPPENS AS A RESULT OF THE STUPID SHIT WE DO.

WE OFTEN GET IN TROUBLE FOR THE STUPID SHIT WE DO TO AVOID TELLING ABOUT THE SHIT THAT HAPPENED BECAUSE OF THE STUPID SHIT WE DID.

MESSAGE.

FOUL UP.
FESS UP.
FAST.
FASTIDIOUSLY. (Tell the Whole Truth.)

TO ANYONE YOU CAN FIND TO FESS UP TO.
BOSSES.
SUBORDINATES.
THE GUY AT THE BAR.
OR IN THE WEIGHT ROOM.

THEN GET ON WITH LIFE.

I am not a moralist.
I am not arguing that "telling the truth is a ... GOOD THING. (Though I generally think it is.)
I am arguing that telling the truth ASAP is a ... USEFUL-PRAGMATIC-CAREER ENHANCING THING TO DO ... BECAUSE THE BOOGEYMAN IS GOING TO GET YOU IF YOU DON'T. (I.e. bloggers cornering Dan Rather. Rather has a habit of being chased by weird people, come to think of it.)

And, actually, people think it's "cool" when you/me tell the truth—foul up, fess up, fast, fastidiously. (Soooo Cool, that maybe you should fess up to things you haven't done?) (Just a thought.)

Seriously: PEOPLE HAVE VAST RESERVOIRS OF FORGIVENESS FOR SINS INCLUDING STUPID SINS ... AND ARE THIN-SKINNED AS ALL GET OUT ABOUT EVASIVENESS AND CONVOLUTED EXPLANATIONS.

("It depends on what the meaning of 'is' is.")

"I screwed up with the customer" beats (by a country mile): "We lost the customer because the customer's people tripped all over themselves and couldn't come to a decision ... blah blah blah."

Or: "THE LIGHTS IN THE ROOM WERE TOO LOW BY WHICH TO SEE MURDEROUS DICTATORS." (Hey, even, "I like the old brute, used to go water skiing with him ..." would have been better. Right?)

FOUL UP.
FESS UP.
FAST.
FASTIDIOUSLY.

Tom Peters posted this on 09/30/04.