Stanley F. Bronstein – Personal Development BlogPersonal Development Blog of the Founder of the Achievement IQ Movement and Creator of the Laws of Positioning

If something goes wrong, it is more important to talk about who is going to fix it than who is to blame.

Francis J. Gable

Wrong – Not in accordance with what is morally right or good. Not correct in action, judgment, opinion, method, etc. Not in accordance with recommended requirements or practice.

Important – Of much or great significance or consequence. Mattering much. Entitled to more than ordinary consideration or notice.

Fix – To repaid; mend. To put in order or in good condition.

Blame – To hold responsible; find fault. To place the responsibility for. An act of attributing fault; censure.

Responsible – Answerable or accountable.

Source: Dictionary.com

What does this mean?

To me this quote epitomizes a large part of what needs to be improved in today’s world. All too often, people spend way too much time looking for someone to hold responsible; to hold at fault, rather than just figuring out what needs to be done to put the situation back into order.

This is a natural human tendency, especially in a business environment where everyone is looking to cover their rear end and stay out of trouble.

What might be a better course of action?

I learned a VERY long time ago that whenever I made a mistake or screwed up, I should admit it quickly and emphatically. Why would I do this? I always figured that if I was going to get blamed anyway, I might as well hurry up and get that part out of the way By getting it out of the way, I was then able to quickly focus on fixing the problem and putting things right.

I wish more people would do this. By fixing the blame on yourself, you avoid the necessity of someone else having to do it. By allowing someone else to avoid fixing blame, you reduce the tension in the situation and get started along the path toward fixing the problem much sooner.

If you are the one who did not cause the problem and are about to blame someone, this same principle applies in reverse. When someone messes up, they usually know it. Instead of spending hours and hours beating them over the head with a baseball bat (which will only make them defensive), you should spend no more than a few minutes letting them know they made the mistake. Once you’ve let them know, MOVE ON !!!

Move on toward fixing the problem and forget about the blame part. Blaming someone is living in the past. Moving on toward fixing the problem and improving the situation is living in the present. By living in the present, we increase the chances we will have a future.

Today’s feature video is of Calvin F. Williams, Jr. or Greensboro, North Carolina. Calvin is a young up and comer who owns his own web design and web application development business. You can visit his website at XMGONLINE.com.

In this video, Calvin talks about the value of mentoring and how it is important to give back to others as much (if not more) than we received from our mentors.

Calvin F. Williams, Jr. is one of the persons who will be featured in my upcoming book:

If you want to view that portion of the interview, click on the image below.

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