My good friend and fellow co-worker recently made a mistake. She booked a roundtrip flight from Chicago to Baltimore. The only problem is that she lives in Baltimore. Oops.
I made a mistake last month. I sent an email that was intended for my wife (Kristina) to my friend (Krista). I know what you are thinking. No. It was not anything that could get me in trouble! Kristina and Krista are friends.
This was not the first mistake I’ve ever made, nor will it be the last. The same goes for my co-worker. I’d bet that you make mistakes all of the time too. You may have just made one. That’s okay. Cut yourself some slack. You are human. Humans make mistakes (so do computers, but that’s another story).
The good news about making mistakes is that for the far majority of us, nobody loses their job. Unless you are in the medical field, your mistake does not lead to death (another reason why I’m not a doctor). In fact, most people don’t even notice when a mistake is made. As the saying goes, “To err is human.”
To Err Is Human
Think about this for a second. To err is human. Too often in the business world we spend so much time worrying about making a mistake. Statements like, “I can’t send that email. What if someone gets upset?” or “We can’t publish that blog post yet. What if there is a typo?” or “What? I’m going to let an employee use Twitter? What if they say something bad about our company?”
As mentioned about, people make mistakes all of the time. Sure, I’m all for doing everything in your power to prevent a mistake from happening. But the reality is, mistakes are bound to occur. We are human. Much of the time, it’s about how you respond after the mistake is made.
Do you…
- Accept responsibility for your mistake (human error) and move on?
- Analyze why you made the mistake and figure out a way to minimize it from happening again?
- Perseverate about the mistake, get paralyzed by your error, and lose productivity?
I know, it depends on the situation and the mistake, but think about where you generally fall. How to you deal with mistakes?
Photo (Flickr CC): B Rosen
DJ Waldow
@djwaldow
