10 excuses your boss doesn’t want to hear

Some people spend lots of time explaining why they can’t do their job. They might even have valid reasons. But, in the end there are two types of people: Those who get things done and those who make excuses for not getting things done. Which one are you?

Now, I realize some managers make unreasonable demands. They assign impossible project deadlines. They provide limited resources and guidance. In all cases like this, communication is vital. This article in techrepublic.com entitled, "10 excuses your boss doesn’t want to hear", provides some great advice.

Most importantly, the difference between excuses and good communication is timing. Your manager doesn’t want to hear excuses after you’ve failed. If you feel the deadline is impossible or the resources are lacking, tell him/her at the start of the project. Don’t wait until the project fails and make excuses.

I also realize there are times when a boss makes difficult demands and won’t budge. In this case, you have a couple options: Give up or figure out a way to complete the task anyway.

For example, management told this IT department to develop a sophisticated Web-based reporting system that interfaces with multiple host systems.  The deadline: Three weeks. To make matters worse, they were short a developer. What did they do? They met the deadline anyway. Read the whole story to find out what they did.