Five sentences recur when problems are starting to get explained away. Each sentence can make sense on its own. When several of them turn up in the same quarter — or the same sentence gets used several quarters in a row — they're rarely explanations any more. They're usually a way of putting the decision off.
The five sentences
- "It'll correct after the summer / after Christmas / in Q3." The explanation can be right in itself. When the same sentence gets used three quarters in a row, and the date keeps moving, it's rarely an explanation any more.
- "We've seen worse." Comparing the current situation to past crises is often a way of parking the problem. Something getting solved before doesn't necessarily mean the same will happen this time.
- "It's just a fluctuation." A fluctuation is often a correct read. When the word "just" gets used again and again, it's rarely a fluctuation any more.
- "Our situation is different." Many leadership teams believe their business is different from all the others that showed the same signs. It's often right on some points — and rarely right on all of them.
- "We'll win them back." Many customers don't come back. When the sentence gets used about several customers across several quarters, it's often a sign that the problem is bigger than anyone wants to admit.
What to do with the list
If you've said one of these sentences for more than two quarters in a row, it usually isn't about the explanation any more. It's a signal that you, or someone around you, has started explaining something away.
The point isn't to ban the sentences. It's to notice when they get used, and to ask an outsider to go through them with you. That's often where the pattern starts to become visible.