The Professional's Code

It just so happened that I was sitting in church today (01/12/2013) to witness a confirmation event for my daughter. I must say it’s quite a big deal for her. And for the folks she lives with. And these are honest, law abiding citizens. The type who make time to go say their prayers on Sundays. Now church is not really the type of place you would expect to find me on a Sunday morning. But one has got to be part of society. And that requires abiding by the common rules of society. It's the thing about doing whatever the folks in Rome get up to when you happen to be on their corner of the universe.

When in Rome..

So the church being Rome for me, my mind wandered off to reading stuff on the Internet (thank heavens for Internet-enabled mobile phones). I stumbled upon one article that instantly piqued my curiosity, which was aptly titled: "the reason you screwed up". Now that's an odd title to be reading in church you may say. But I read the article anyway. To ensure I don't get accused of plagiarism, follow this link if you want to check it out yourselves. The essence of the article is that excuses do not cut it in the real world. One can get by in college and in other areas in life dishing out nicely-packaged excuses to cover up. But there are tough consequences in the real world. 

Now that hit home for me. I couldn't help looking back on my life reflecting on those moments where I lazed off and  crafted some nice excuses to bail me out.

Getting the job done!

So it turns out there is a way out of this sad malaise. One's just gotta resolve to get the job done no matter what. That's where a good many of us fall short. There is anyways the temptation to postpone, do it some other time, or during a more convenient time. When it's appropriate. We come up with multitudes of excuses. Oh, there is the Barcelona game tonight! Or the Boks are playing the most important game of the year this weekend. Or the Chokers (Proteas of course) stand a really good chance this time. Bafana are playing the world champions! Or whatever other sporting code catches your fancy. In truth, there is always one or some other activity that competes with your priorities. One can never run short of a good excuse.

That’s probably the reason why lots of important things don’t get done on time; why Medupi is behind schedule with dire consequences for energy security in the country. Probably the only reason why many projects fall flat. It boils down to not adopting the Professional’s Code. I’ll paraphrase a passage from the article I read – using different words would be doing a disservice to the fine writing style of the author:

"It’s really not that tough to adopt the Professional’s Code. It takes a commitment, and requires the skill to tell others “no” when faced with a tough choice. And to tell yourself “no” when your very natural urge to flake out and bail on your responsibilities flares up. Everyone would rather party, or even veg out… instead of buckling down and finishing the job they signed up for. That’s the easy path. Being a true rebel nowadays means embracing responsibility with gusto and energy. The last rebellious act in business, really, is to commit to success. No matter what. Your social life will suffer. The family will get mad at you. No one will understand, and you will toil without immediate gratification from outside sources. (Your rewards must come from your own heart and sense of self-respect).  And it all rests on a simple foundation. If you take on a job, you do it. You kill the whiny beasts in your head, wrestle your attention deficit disorder into submission, push through pain and grief and disaster to do what you promised you’d do. Today – in business and in conquering the mounting ills of the world – we need professionals more than ever. The hardest and most rewarding jobs will not get done through excuses."

So there you have it folks. Time up for excuses - I'm guilty of this myself. I hereby make a pledge to adopt the Professional’s Code. From today forward. Now you will understand when I'm not going to join you for the usual drink at the bar. Gotta go tick off a couple of things on my to-do list.