Taking Ownership of Failure and Achieve Success
The fact that you are reading this says that you, an influencing leader – business coach, entrepreneur, team leader, business owner, or salesperson - are likely NOT in the category of ‘no ownership,’ meaning you take no responsibility for your results. That leaves two options: ‘Some responsibility’ or ‘total responsibility.’
Most of us have been conditioned to only take “some ownership” over our performance. Notice that whenever a divisive political, economic or social issue crops up, people are quick to blame everyone else. But remember, fault is a low intelligence concept.
In the 1950’s, Earl Nightingale said, “To be successful, we must look at what everybody else is doing and consider doing the opposite.” Look at people who blame others. Look at people who blame the economy. Look at people who blame their product, their circumstances, their family, their background, their shortcomings, the weather, Lindsey Lohan and everything else they can think up, for poor results.
Consider choosing to do the reverse. Consider becoming one of the few who really do choose to take total ownership over their results. You will receive the prosperity that the many who only take “some ownership” will never find. Be willing to own ALL your consequences, good and bad. Great sales people succeed by deliberately crafting their messages and when they don’t succeed, they change objection and rejection into the perfect chance to redesign their message. They own the result.
Be willing to own ALL the results of your employees, as a leader, good and bad. Great leaders look across the hall when things go well and tell their team “you did it” and look inside when things don’t go well and tell themselves “I did it.” They own the result, especially when things go poorly. Bottom line, as my good friend Hal Elrod (also a contributor to my book Cutting Edge Sales) taught me, to the extent that you take responsibility for everything in your life, you will be able to change anything in your life.
Great influencers settle for nothing but total responsibility.
Jon Berghoff
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