Setting up the long excuse

If you’ve watched shows like Burn Notice, Leverage, or dozens of older movies and television, you should be familiar with the “Long Con.” A series of small and subtle steps that lead to a bigger end game. Strangely, a new practice has shown up in a lot of people that comes across as “The Long Excuse.” It’s a small series of self-induced hurdles, excuses and roadblocks, so that when a project or task doesn’t complete as expected, the excuses are already at hand. The seeds of doubt have already been sown, ready to be reaped if needed. It starts with a series of comments being laid down on why a project or task didn’t go as expected. Instead of leaning into the problem, understanding it and coming up with a new solution or approach, the following phrases are presented during meetings and stand-ups. This is a lot harder than I originally thought I “had” to attend this meeting I “had […]