"No excuse": One CEO's Guide to Accountability and Commitment for Leaders and Those Being Led

Setting stretching goals is a good start. But without commitment, nothing gets done. So how do you get people committed to your goals? One way is to get them to feel a sense of accountability and responsibility for results. Once that happens, people become personally committed to the goals because it’s their victory if they win, and their loss if they fail. And there’s nowhere better to learn about personal accountability and responsibility than the United States military.

In the fall of 1971, Bob McDonald joined the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. Along with the traditional hazing a first-year cadet experiences, Bob learned quickly there were only four acceptable responses when addressed by a superior officer: “Yes, sir”; “No, sir”, “I don’t understand, sir”; and “No excuse, sir”.

As Bob explains it,

“Imagine I’ve shined my shoes, my trousers are pressed, and I go out to formation. While in line, one of my classmates rushes past and steps in a puddle, splashing mud all over my shoes and trousers. Then an upperclassman walks by and notices. ‘McDonald! Why are you in formation with mud all over your shoes and trousers?’

As a West Point cadet, I go through all four possible answers in my head. ‘Yes, sir’ would just restate the obvious, so that doesn’t seem appropriate. And it would probably get me yelled at even more. I couldn’t say ‘No, sir’ because it was clearly true. I’d get thrown out of the academy for lying. ‘I don’t understand, sir’ would just make me look stupid. As a new cadet, I was doing enough of that already. The only answer I had left was the fourth one, and it’s the most powerful one of all—‘No excuse, sir.’

Even though something happened to me that was outside my control, I wasn’t supposed to make any excuses. I was supposed to say, ‘No excuse, sir. It won’t happen again.’ That’s how a West Point cadet takes responsibility, which is an important part of character.”

Bob was reminded of the power of that lesson thirteen years later, when he and his wife, Diane, were discussing what to do about their 6-year-old, Jenny. After repeatedly telling Jenny to clean up her room, they found it hadn’t been done. It was a mess.

Being thoughtful parents, they consulted one of the many parenting books on their shelves for advice on how to reprimand a child for an infraction like this. They discussed their options, and even scripted out the conversation they would have with Jenny. With script in hand, they went and found Jenny in her room.

“Jenny, we’d like to talk to you about the condition of your room,” Bob started. But before he could even get to the second sentence of his prepared speech, Jenny looked up at him and with all the seriousness of a West Point cadet she said,

“No excuse, Dad. It won’t happen again.”

Bob and Diane were completely dumbstruck. They stood there in awkward silence, trying to figure out what to say next. Their script was completely useless now. With seven simple words, Jenny had acknowledged the state of her room, taken responsibility for it, and promised to not let it happen again. Everything their lengthy script was supposed to help them accomplish was already done. There was nothing left to say. They kissed their little girl on the cheek, and left her to clean her room.

For years, Bob shared those stories and those lessons with the people who worked for him. As the CEO of Procter & Gamble, and later as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in the Obama Administration, one of his primary responsibilities was to set stretching goals and objectives for the organization and get thousands of employees committed to deliver them. Truly committing to a goal means that if it isn’t met, you take responsibility for it and promise to get it done. The ‘No excuse, sir’ response is a clear indication of commitment and responsibility.

It works as well in the business world as it does in a military academy or in parenting a six-year-old. And it works for the boss just as much as it does for the subordinate. When the boss hears “No excuse, ma'am,” she can be certain her subordinate is taking responsibility and is still committed to the goal. For the direct report, the disarming “No excuse” response spares him a lengthy reprimand from the boss, just like it spared Jenny.

Try it yourself, and see how it works. Better yet, share Bob's story and see what a difference it can make in your entire company.

Source: Lead with a Story: How to Craft Business Narratives that Captivate, Convince, and Inspire, by Paul Smith

Paul Smith is one of the world's leading experts on business storytelling. He's a keynote speaker, storytelling coach, and bestselling author of the books Lead with a Story, Sell with a Story, and Parenting with a Story.

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