Better To Be Consistently Bad Than Inconsistently Good

Let me share an analogy! This is near and dear to my heart since it remains fresh in my mind even after almost 20 years.

Have you ever played baseball (or fast-pitch softball) with an inconsistent umpire behind the plate? It is very frustrating when a pitch up at your chin is a strike one time and a ball another time. As a batter you dread going to the plate. Why? Because you just don't know what to do next.

I would have preferred that the umpire always called pitches at my chin a strike than occasionally. The problem with "occasionally" is you just never know if the next one will be it.
The advantage with always (another word for consistently) is I could adjust my swing if I know in advance. When I had an inconsistent umpire I couldn't wait for the game to be over.

There are employees all over the business world who cannot wait to leave their manager because of inconsistency. They say nothing to an employee that is routinely late and nail another person that is late one time. There are just too many examples of this to list in this already long post so I will create another on specific inconsistencies.

There are also many teenagers out there that can't wait till they turn 18 so they can leave home (the game) because they are so frustrated with inconsistent parents. We are strict one day and easy going the next. We point out everything they do wrong and rarely, if ever, point out what they did right.

Lets talk more about specific workplace inconsistencies next time.