But You Said...

"There is always an option."

I found myself preaching this to a group of employees at 1 PM one day only to have another situation presented to me at 3:30 the same day where I really wanted to say there were no further options.

Did I really believe it, or was it just convenient to say it when it wasn't MY problem? I had to decide it was the way I believed. I pushed myself to find and explore options and eventually, I found a resolution. Isn't it amazing how much stronger you must live your beliefs once you have let them be known? It's a good peer pressure.

What is the moral of the story? It's two fold:

1) Be willing to stand up and state your convictions. People will respect you for doing so. Did I gain credibility by saying "there is always an option" and then just a few hours later, prove it by pursuing options in a seemingly impossible situation? You bet I did. You could see it in the faces of the people as they went from"So now what is Mr. Know-it-all going to do" to "He did exactly like he said he would".

2)Make sure you believe it and are willing to back it up before you go spouting off! If you want to erase credibility in a hurry, be a hypocrite. It won't fly- even if you do believe YOUR situation was different.