{"id":1257,"date":"2017-03-29T17:11:33","date_gmt":"2017-03-30T00:11:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/b-spoke.net\/?page_id=1257"},"modified":"2026-06-26T17:25:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T17:25:39","slug":"3-be-a-man-of-action","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/binneys-laws\/3-be-a-man-of-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Binney’s Third Law"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saturdays at the hotel operated on a different rhythm than the rest of the week. Administrative staff \u2013 and most of sales and marketing \u2013 took the day off, so there were fewer distractions like meetings. Guests usually had fewer scheduled activities, which meant less to set up and cater; in fact, they usually slept later, which meant a slow, steady diet of requests instead of the mad-dash between 7AM and 9AM. Truthfully, Saturday wasn\u2019t a bad day to work. In fact, you could easily coast without a tie until about Noon.<\/h3>\n

One such Saturday, when I should have been in my office working on budgets, forecasts, or schedules, I decided to hang out in the Command Center. (Let\u2019s be clear: My \u201coffice\u201d was a counter and a filing cabinet in the back of the Room Service kitchen; its only asset was proximity to the five gallon Fetco brewer that was always filled with hot and tasty Starbucks coffee.)<\/h3>\n

Kenny the Dispatcher (who was deaf in one ear) was holding fort, while Chrissy, Rhonda, Jeannie, and Judy were sitting around, dishing the dirt about fashion mags and generally being catty about the rest of the staff. I brought in coffee service from the kitchen, and for giggles even fielded a few guest calls.<\/h3>\n

\u201cOh my God, yall, Binney<\/em> has a headset on!\u201d cried Chrissy. They loved it. Remember, I was \u201caloof\u201d \u2013 that is, I delegated appropriately \u2013 so I was rarely on the phones, and I never <\/em>spoke over the radio.<\/h3>\n

My taking the occasional phone call was actually a curiosity for them \u2013 and a welcome laugh.<\/h3>\n

\"\"It was quiet, so we had moved into such heady conversation as \u201cprom season\u201d, \u201cWill and Grace\u201d, and \u201cwho wore it best.\u201d In one corner of the room, though, I could sense Kenny\u2019s frustration. Not with us, but with some of our bellmen, or \u201cAgents\u201d as we called them.<\/h3>\n

I sensed this frustration thanks to my keen insight into reading body language and subtext \u2013 Kenny threw his radio microphone against the wall as hard as he could, grabbed his temples with both hands, and yelled, \u201cUnnnnnnnnnnnnrrrrrh!\u201d<\/h3>\n

Then he took a deep breath, picked up the mic, and tried again. \u201cBase to Agent 938, what is the status of the delivery?\u201d (Radio protocol dictated we don\u2019t use names, we use callsigns; ours were numbers in the 900 range. I was \u201c999\u201d \u2013 the highest of the high. An honor, indeed.)<\/h3>\n

I toggled my computer screen to see what was on Kenny\u2019s: Agent 938 \u2013 that is, Jack the One-Handed Bellman \u2013 had been assigned to deliver a hair dryer to a room over 20 minutes ago, and it had not been completed. Our standard of service was less than 15 minutes; Kenny\u2019s PC started alarming at 11 minutes.<\/h3>\n

Jack the One-Handed Bellman kept a pocket copy of the union contract in his uniform jacket; he had been in the same job for 23 years, and challenged any assignment that didn\u2019t guarantee a tip. With the possible exception of Angry Danny (also a bellman\/agent) or Crazy Kenny (the valet who took the bus to work because he was afraid to drive, not the telephone supervisor who was deaf in one ear), Jack the One-Handed Bellman routinely tiptoed closest to insubordination. If he didn\u2019t want to do something, he wouldn\u2019t do it \u2013 until I or one of my managers specifically said, \u201cJack, I am your manager and I am telling you to\u2026\u201d (And then it was guaranteed that, as soon as he was done complying, he was calling Sambucca, his union rep).<\/h3>\n

And now, on a seemingly easygoing Saturday morning, Kenny was dealing with him. \u201cUh, yeah, Base, this is 938. I think you\u2019d better get someone else to do that.\u201d<\/h3>\n

\u201c938, this was assigned 20 minutes ago, you haven\u2019t had any other calls, what\u2019s the hold up?\u201d<\/h3>\n

This is going out over the hotel radio network; every walkie-talkie in the building is listening in.<\/h3>\n

\u201cI am waiting for a nearby checkout.\u201d (Read: Tip).<\/h3>\n

\u201cAgent 938, I can\u2019t assign you a checkout until you complete this.\u201d Technically he could<\/em>, but good on him for lending himself some authority. Even if he didn\u2019t really have it.<\/h3>\n

\u201cI just think it would be better if Housekeeping did that. They should have someone on the floor already.\u201d<\/h3>\n

A guest calling for a hair dryer is probably standing around with wet hair while this is playing out.<\/h3>\n

\u201cAgent 938, Base here again. Um, I asked you<\/em> to do it. And you said you would\u2026\u201d<\/h3>\n

\u201cUm, Base, why don\u2019t you find me a checkout nearby and I\u2019ll take it up on my way.\u201d<\/h3>\n

\u201c938, just close out this ticket and I will see what I can do.\u201d<\/h3>\n

The women in the Command Center weren\u2019t paying a lot of attention to this \u2013 this behavior was not atypical. Maybe Jack the One-Handed Bellman was a little more aggressive (in both avoiding dull work and negotiating assignments) than his peers, but this wasn\u2019t surprising anyone.<\/h3>\n

\u201cYeah, uh, Base. Do you even know if there are hair dryers in the supply closets? I don\u2019t want to waste my time looking for- \u00a0I mean, last time I went to deliver-\u201c<\/h3>\n

That was it. I\u2019d had it.<\/h3>\n

I pushed my wheeled desk chair from one side of the room to the Dispatcher\u2019s station, and literally took the microphone from Kenny\u2019s hand.<\/h3>\n

I keyed it. \u201cJack, do you know who this is?\u201d Security had written up the last dozen people who had used proper names on the radio.<\/h3>\n

\u201cUh, is this 999?\u201d<\/h3>\n

\u201cListen carefully, Jack. Right now, you are faced with a choice.\u201d<\/h3>\n

I paused, partly for effect, but mostly to figure out what that choice was. \u201cAnd the choice is this. You are either a Man of Action, or a Man of Excuses. Which is it going to be?\u201d<\/h3>\n

\u201cI, uh\u2026. I guess I can go get the -\u201d<\/h3>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right.\u201d<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

It was like a bomb had gone off. The Command Center was silent. Room Service agents slowly walked over to the window to peek in. Saturday Captain Ben stared, smiled, and started laughing.<\/h3>\n

Chrissy broke the silence. \u201cDamn, yall, he just schooled 938! I want to be a Man of Action!\u201d<\/h3>\n

Judy shook her head dismissively. \u201cI don\u2019t know what no Man of Excuses is, but I don\u2019t want to be one of \u2018em.\u201d<\/h3>\n

Jeannie stood up and flexed her biceps, Charles Atlas-style. \u201cI am a Man of Action!\u201d<\/h3>\n

Kenny slowly took the microphone back. Not knowing what exactly to say, he keyed it. \u201cUhhhhh\u2026 OK, thanks 938? Let me know when that\u2019s complete?\u201d<\/h3>\n

\u201c10-4\u201d<\/p>\n

And thus was borne Binney\u2019s Third Law, my guiding force for getting shit done:<\/p>\n

You Are Either a Man of Action<\/h4>\n

Or a Man of Excuses<\/h4>\n

That was it \u2013 two choices. Get it done, or put your tail between your legs and admit you\u2019re not a man at all.<\/p>\n

I suppose it is here that I should underscore that the word \u201cMan\u201d in \u201cMan of Action\u201d has literally nothing to do with gender, gender identity, or genitalia. I had more women on my staff who were Men of Action than men. There was Juice the Dispatcher who ruled the airwaves with precision clockwork; Carrie the Manager, who (other than the fact that she wore white shoes before Memorial Day) was a brilliant and active operational leader; Chrissy, who was fearless; regional director Mitzi \u2013 the list goes on. I\u2019ve been married to a woman for nearly 25 years who gets more accomplished in a day than I conceive in a month. But<\/em> the phrase \u201cMen and Women of Action\u201d doesn\u2019t flow right, and \u201cPeople of Action\u201d sounds like a civil unrest network. So, please forgive this pigheaded, misogynistic use of English. If for some reason you can\u2019t, if it is just too much to bear, return this blog for the full purchase price, with my apologies. Otherwise, let\u2019s continue.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I put my chair back, picked up my coffee cup, and retired to my office. I don\u2019t know if dropping the mic was a thing then, but I wish I had done so.<\/h3>\n

I could hear the chatter from staff in the kitchen while I worked on the budget forecast. People \"\"couldn\u2019t believe that not only had I been on the radio, but that I finally gave Jack his comeuppance. They also were quick to point out that Security should write me up.<\/h3>\n

Carrie\u2019s shift started at Noon, and it was about 12:15 before she made it back to the office. \u201cSo, uh\u2026. What\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/h3>\n

\u201cHey there! Nothing.\u201d<\/h3>\n

\u201cSoooooo\u2026 What is a \u2018Man of Action\u2019?\u201d<\/h3>\n

It had stuck. In less than two hours, it was part of the gossip mill. Touchdown. \u201cCarrie, I think it may be our brand.\u201d<\/h3>\n

At the time \u2013 the end of the last millennium \u2013 business literature was full of stories on the import of properly articulating \u201cvision\u201d and \u201cmission\u201d statements. Without a well-crafted Vision, so said the Wisdom, you were doomed for failure. And even well into the 21st<\/sup> century, I work with clients that put an inordinate effort into shaping that single sentence.<\/p>\n

We tried our hand at \u201cVision\u201d and \u201cMission\u201d statements (\u201cWe will foster a spirit of continuous improvement\u2026.\u201d), to no avail. It was a lot of effort to wordsmith with other managers and executives, but when it made it on to the field \u2013 where it mattered \u2013 it was barely noticed.<\/p>\n

When I stumbled across the concept of being a \u201cMan of Action\u201d, I found something. It immediately resonated with staff. The distinction between \u201caction\u201d and \u201cexcuses\u201d was clear,<\/p>\n

Up until then, in order to foster that sense of empowerment, when a staff person would come to me with a tactical question, I would always reply with, \u201cWell what do you think we should do?\u201d That\u2019s Management 101 \u2013 Build Buy-In, the thinking being even if it\u2019s not the optimal solution, it shows your staff that you trust them and want them to take charge. In truth, it frustrated them. \u201cIf I knew what to do, I wouldn\u2019t have asked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now I had a better reply. \u201cWell, what would a Man of Action do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Whenever deciding on what to do next, ask that. If you can\u2019t find an answer, ask, \u201cWhat would a Man of Excuses say?\u201d \u2013 and then do exactly not<\/span> that. It\u2019s a deliberate push for people to have a bias for activity, for \u201cAction\u201d, for getting things done.<\/p>\n

No one who \u201ctook Action\u201d \u2013 even if it was entirely the wrong action \u2013 was ever disciplined. If they totally blew it, we treated it as a learning opportunity. If they took a swing of the bat, even if they put the ball through Mrs. Kravitz\u2019 front window, they were lauded.<\/p>\n

I wanted my staff to lean toward Action \u2013 doing something, anything was better than doing nothing \u2013 but I didn\u2019t want people to jump forward without thinking about what they were doing. In this case, thinking meant \u201cdon\u2019t be paralyzed\u201d, not \u201ctalk yourself out of what needs doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Man of Action is \u201cholistic\u201d: if she sees things falling apart, she jumps in to help, but not if it causes more harm than good. (Sometimes when Kenny would not get responses to radio assignments, he would pop out and make deliveries himself \u2013Action, rather than Excuses. But, by leaving his post as dispatcher, he was actually causing more<\/em> calls to back up, or overtaxing the operators, who were his primary responsibility \u2013 so that\u2019s not the best Action.)<\/p>\n

A significant part of our job was covering for other departments \u2013 people called us because Housekeeping, or Maintenance, or even the Front Desk dropped the ball. We were the \u201cHero\u201d department. A Man of Excuses laments that, and wonders why he has to spend so much time fixing other people\u2019s mistakes.<\/p>\n

A Man of Action is not distracted<\/strong>; a Man of Excuses will find other things to do to \u201ckeep busy\u201d rather than confront the issue head on.<\/p>\n

A Man of Excuses is obsessed with what other people are doing, if they are busier or making more tips than he is; a Man of Action knows his cause is just and true<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A Man of Excuses replays yesterday and worries about what might-have-been; a Man of Action lives in the momen<\/strong>t.<\/p>\n

A Man of Action knows that it\u2019s not about her: When she\u2019s needed, she\u2019s needed<\/strong>. A Man of Excuses wants others to adjust to his schedule or workflow.<\/p>\n

A Man of Action, when inspired, puts his ideas into effect.<\/strong> There will always be flaws to your thinking and risks to overcome. But only a Man of Excuses waits until conditions are perfect.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saturdays at the hotel operated on a different rhythm than the rest of the week. Administrative staff \u2013 and most of sales and marketing \u2013 took the day off, so there were fewer distractions like meetings. Guests usually had fewer … Continue reading Binney’s Third Law<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2227,"parent":1223,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"tags":[16,40,47,48],"class_list":["post-1257","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-binneys-laws","tag-getting-shit-done","tag-man-of-action","tag-man-of-excuses"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1257"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2480,"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1257\/revisions\/2480"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1223"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}