After being annoyed this afternoon when one of my coddled employees refused to work two hours on Sunday helping me with a project where the PM is chewing me up, I picked up a new magazine (well new to me) titled pink. The Founding Editor - Cynthia Good - talks about that nasty word - can’t - in her opening letter.

I loved how she said “can’t is just a state of mind - and a poor excuse for won’t”. Yes! I literally got chills when I read that statement. You have no idea how many times I have wanted to literally scream when HairBoutique.com employees have whined - I can’t because….followed by a stream of lame excuses.

Then I am faced with the dilemma of whether or not I want to even exert my limited supply of energy to deal with a work ethic challenged (WEC) team member.

Is it worth it to try and change a mindset that has sprung from the 20somethings that are known as the Milleniums? It depends on how serious the problem. If they tell me they can’t or won’t or forgot and there is a direct consequence to my customers, vendors or partners….and depending on the severity of the consequences…I will deal swiftly with the problem. If it is a minor infraction, I will note it for future reference and ponder ways to prevent the ongoing situation.

Sadly, nothing surprises me about the can’ts that regularly flow from their mouths.

Besides “I can’t” I also hear the “I forgot” as in “I forgot to call to let you know that I would be 15, 30, 45 minutes or 3 hours late for work”. Also, there is the “I have to leave early…..to walk my dog, feed my cat, put on my makeup so I can party all night, take my Significant Other (SO) grocery shopping or even, leave early to go to the tanning salon. Of course there is also the whiny…I don’t want to or the passive/aggressive behaviors when confronted for obviously slacking off.

Imagine my excitement when Cynthia Good reported that anyone on her staff at pink magazine must pay $1.00 when they utter that cursed word - can’t. What an innovative idea.

So what is pink and where did I find it? Last week I was dragged kicking and screaming into Fry’s Electronics where I was parked in front of the magazine racks where I did serious damage to my debit card. One of the “new” magazines I picked up was pink because it had some interesting cover stories including: Women Execs On Suicide Watch and How A Waitress Built a 31M Business and How Mom’s Career Influenced You.

No, I haven’t finished the magazine yet but so far, so good.

My only regret? I don’t have more time to read. You can bet I will be checking out pink again in the future.

Tags: can't, Cynthia Good, Millies, pink magazine, state of mind, WEC, won't, Work Ethic Challenged

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 14th, 2008 at 9:04 pm and is filed under Behind The Scenes, Life In The CEO Lane. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.