I Can Do That

There is a big difference between the "I can do that" of desperation and the "I can do that" of confidence.

A client hired an employee who collected two paychecks then quit, because he was no longer hungry -- for the moment anyhow. I worked beside a steelworker who committed to doing a task he had no clue how to tackle -- tens of thousands of dollars later to repair the damage he caused, he still didn't know what exactly went wrong.

I watched a local company that agreed to a low bid in order to steal the business away from a competitor although they had no idea how to do the process, didn't have the right equipment, and created a public black eye for the group that hired them as well as their own reputation.

Why do people commit to "I can do that" out of desperation?

The desperate version of "I can do that" comes from:
• An out of work person just looking for a pay check just to pay a bill.
• A company trying to grab any dollar in any field they think they can to make a buck.
• An employee wanting attention from his/her boss just to try to get ahead.
• A child trying to prove he is older then his friends give him credit for.
• An adult trying to prove he is younger than his friends give him credit for.

If you don't have a good radar to detect the desperate version of "I can do that" you can lose customers, have accidents in your work place and lose millions of dollars in the processing of trying to figure out what went wrong.

A lack of proper training can actually create a variation of this culture called "You can do that" with the same disastrous results.

The "I can do that" based in confidence is the one you work to identify and develop. Once the raw talent is there, the knowledge is there supported by confidence of correct repetition, you will find the right version of "I can do that." Its why pilot log thousands of hours before getting in the left seat in larger airplanes. Its why doctors observe and log hours before doing the delicate surgeries.

In our haste to get things done in our fast-paced business environment we are quick to accept most anyone's response of "I can do that" because we think it makes things easier for us.

A friend of mine told me he could cut down a tree for me, and it ripped out power lines. After hours of repair work, the second tree he cut did the same thing to the same power lines. I'd say he couldn't do that no matter how many times he protested "that never happened before." It surely didn't make things easier for me either.

Take your time the next opportunity you delegate a task or hire someone to do a task to make sure they know what they are doing when they tell you "I can do that."