Over on the Inc. blogs, Peter Gasca recently wrote a great article, 5 Most Destructive Phrases in Business. I know from personal experience coming up in the business world that these are poison phases that lead to lost opportunity. Further, they are poison in just about any relationship, after all they are all about unbelief, fear, and doubt:
- “I can’t (fill in the blank).”
- “That’s not the way it’s done.”
- “That’s impossible.”
- “If we only had money.”
- “The problem is (fill in the blank).”
Sure, you might not personally be able to do something, but that means that the job is bigger than you…you need a team. Why not go find it and take on the challenge? Why not choose to grow into the leader who can get it done?
Now let me be clear, I am not talking about violating your values. But when confronted with a problem/challenge, look carefully and see if there really is a values issue involved. Sometimes people cloak their personal fears in terms of their values to avoid confronting them. So live your values, but challenge your beliefs.
If you want to grow your business, eradicate these phrases from your lexicon. If you want to succeed in your family, eradicate these phrases from your lexicon. Create new ones like these:
- “Working together, we can (fill in the blank).”
- “How can we do this better?”
- “Who will help us get the money?”
- “Let’s figure out a solution to this challenge.”
5 Most Destructive Phrases in Business at Inc.
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