Turning Excuses into Solutions

The Article about Steve Jobs giving the janitor speech to recently minted VP made me think about the different approaches one can take to solve a problem. The most obvious and irresponsible one is to create an excuse and bounce the problem to somebody else. That is the main argument Jobs gives on why some people are janitors and other go to become VP at apple. The idea of turning a problem into a solution and profiting from it is key to business success. If I were a janitor at apple and somebody changed the lock of the door of an office I had to clean I'll surely find a way to get around that. The first options is to create an excuse and go on, but let explore how we can earn some points with the boss. How can we turn this problem into a solution? better yet... is there a way to profit from it?

We could call a Locksmith, open the door, clean the office and create a guide to follow the next time a key is due for replacement. This approach will require the janitor to work some extra hours. Everything brake there because the janitor has no incentive to stay the extra time. Unfortunately, people don't want to go the extra mile without a reward. However, this is a tremendous opportunity to differentiate yourself from the rest. Go the extra mile, solve the problem and propose a way to make sure it does not happen again. I can guarantee you that at least you'll be promoted to janitor manager if you keep turning excuses into solutions for enough time.