As the head of a company, or even as the manager of your department, you know that production is key. Producing results, producing happy customers and producing increased sales. The instruments of this production are the people working with, and for, you. They are given a specific, or sometimes not too specific, set of tasks to accomplish. Once those things are done, you have what you need to survive in this industry: production.

So then, how is it that when you've gathered your company, department, whatever, in one place to discuss some kind of lack of production, you always hear the same explanations? No, not explanations. Let's call them what they are: excuses.

Following are 13 of my favorite excuses to explain a lack of production, and what they can say about your employee and their feelings towards their job.

"But nobody told me." This is a classic, and has a life of its own, as it is repeated thousands of times each day. Call it the "I'm not to blame…because I didn't know" excuse. Candidly, this is among the worst things to hear. In essence, this is the "anti-responsibility affirmation" and it reveals how employees feel about their relationship to their work. The "nobody told me" reaches to the heart of what a job is all about: initiative. Or in this case, a lack of it. Simply put, your response: "Why not ask?"

"I didn't think there was a rush." This is one of the more revealing responses. The first three words are the key: "I didn't think." Or more aptly, "I didn't give it any thought at all." Once again, what may seem like a perfectly valid excuse for a lack of performance by the person saying it, comes across to the supervisor or customer quite differently—as someone who doesn't think about what they are doing.

"They haven't gotten back to me." Whenever this is used, you can almost always be sure the individual is disorganized. It's the "I forgot to follow up" excuse. Or just as likely, it applies to the person who just realized that the meeting is either tomorrow morning or 30 minutes from now, and dashes off an email or picks up the phone and leaves a hurried message.

How else have they attempted to make contact? Mail? Email? A personal visit? Have they been as persistent on this task as they would be in getting scarce concert tickets? This is a sad excuse simply because it is attempting to blame someone else for an employee's lack of effort.

"I left messages…" This, of course, is the other side of the "They haven't gotten back to me" coin. Translated, it says, "I honestly believe that my responsibility begins and ends with leaving a message." Leaving messages doesn't count. Only connecting counts. "I left a message" is an attempt to pass the blame to someone else for their failure to get the job done.

"I haven't heard back from my email…" This is heard so often, it no longer makes much, if any, of an impression. Because it is taken for granted, it continues to be used. OK, how long are they going to wait? What other steps might be taken to complete the communication? It seems that behind many of the excuse phrases is a failure to understand the nature of work.

"How can anyone expect us to…" The customer's demands are increasing; no doubt about it. And they aren't about to go away. But if we don't turn it around for the customer, either internally or externally, someone else will––and there goes the business.

Many times, the demands seem ridiculous and employees wonder how anyone can make such unrealistic requests so casually. It wasn't so long ago that someone would preface such a request with, "I'm really sorry to put the pressure on you, but I really need this." That's all gone. It's now just a cut to the chase.

"I thought [insert person's name here] was going to do it." Someone is always thinking and not working. Well, not really thinking. Thinking involves the processing of information and evaluating it against objective criteria. So, by anyone's definition, making an excuse for themselves by blaming someone else for their lack of thinking isn't thinking at all. In fact, it illustrates just the opposite, an inability to think. And that isn't a skill that has value on any job.

"I'll do it as soon as I can." This comment would seem to suggest an interest in responding positively to a request, but that is not so. In fact, it's quite the contrary. Translated, you'd hear, "Look, I'm busy. Don't bother me now with something else." It also represents something of an, "It's all about me" attitude that's expressed particularly to co-workers, although it's used with external customers as well.

A more professional approach would be to ask when the person needs the request completed, the package sent, the letter written, the job printed, project delivered. And, if necessary, negotiating an agreed-upon time or date. "I'll do it as soon as I can" communicates the message that their priorities may be all that's important to them.

"I didn't have time." This is the classic excuse for everything from failing an exam to not having a job completed by the deadline. No one ever says, "I didn't make time to do it." Why does it seem justifiable to indicate no time was available for what someone considered important, critical or essential? No one recognizes that there was time for lunch, chatting with coworkers and for leaving a couple minutes early at the end of the day. And they in all seriousness say, "I didn't have time." Using these words today is entering the danger zone.

"I'm working on it." This one is a step up from "I didn't have time." Little translation is needed for this particular response, saying, "I haven't finished the job." Or sometimes more likely, "I haven't even thought about it." And quite possibly, "I forgot all about it." Frankly, "I'm working on it" has come to be synonymous with "I haven't even touched it."

"I know there was a deadline, but they held things up." No one gets points today, can keep a customer happy, or stays in a job by not meeting deadlines. Period.

"I got interrupted and didn't get back to it." The heart of work is managing yourself. This particular excuse lays bare the fact that the worker is unable to manage tasks effectively. And since work is about tasks today, one's management skills are a good indication of an employee's value.

"I'll try." It's always best to leave the best for last. And "I'll try" is the very best excuse of all. Work is about doing––not trying. There are no points for trying. There is no way to avoid the translation of these two words: "I'll give it a shot, but don't fault me if I don't succeed." Believe it or not, an employee is accountable, not for what they attempt, but for what they produce.

The words we use mean something to everyone––or we wouldn't employ them to express our feelings and attitudes. Words tell us about who we are and what we believe is important. And in a very practical way, words can determine our own destiny.