I know it has been a while since my last pet peeve post. I’m sure you missed my rants. This round of pet peeves is focused on this one line (or variations that get leveraged):
It’s not personal. It’s strictly business.
Now I’ve posted about this before but I’m going to the core now.
- FICTIONAL MOVIE: This is not a quote from some amazing servant leader. This is from the fictional movie Godfather. Hardly a proven business approach.
- MOB: In a business setting, you are quoting an actor from a mob movie. Hardly a proven business approach for the corporate world.
- DOESN’T HELP: Never in the history of being told to calm down when freaking out, does that actually calm someone down. Guess what, you telling someone it is not personal, doesn’t make it not personal for them. Saying this helps you; not them.
Please full stop saying this at work settings. As much as these are pet peeves, they are mine and as a leader that doesn’t mean I get to simply judge others. Instead, these serve as opportunities for others and for me to grow. If this stuff was easy, I wouldn’t be sharing.
What are your “quote” pet peeves?
