Make the Most of Mistakes

by Mark S. Fulton

An 1876 internal memo at Western Union had this to say about a new communication device: “This telephone has too may shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.”

After a disappointing flying experiment in 1901, Wilbur Wright predicted, “Man won't fly for a thousand years.”

In 1943 Thomas Watson, the chairman of IBM, expressed his opinion about a new machine he had seen: “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”

Oops. History is replete with observations and predictions that look foolish with hindsight. But don't be too hard on the folks whose crystal balls were less than clear.

Have you ever exercised poor judgement, committed a careless action, come to an ill-informed decision or perpetrated a personal misunderstanding? Of course you have. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Mistakes remind us of our imperfections and keep us from becoming too enamored with ourselves.

Actually, mistakes play an important role in our personal and professional development. Someone once said that the person who makes no mistakes usually doesn't make anything. Attempting to do something new or change something old will inevitably lead to miscalculations. Nevertheless, those missteps can be the precursors of powerful breakthroughs in your life and career because they carry you forward toward the outcome you seek.

The downside of mistakes is that they typically cause us to experience some sort of loss. An erroneous investment assumption can cost you money. A poor hiring decision can lead to lost productivity. Misguided product ideas may shake consumer confidence. Mistakes can temporarily lower your stature in the eyes of someone important.

So how do you make the most of mistakes and transform them from obstacles to opportunities? Try this approach the next time you goof up:

Admit your mistake to yourself and others. Take responsibility and own it. If other parties are involved, confront them and inform them about what has happened. Be honest and upfront; don’t cover up. (Remember what happened to Richard Nixon.) An old folk saying puts it this way: “Admitting error clears the score, and proves you wiser than before.”

Say you’re sorry. More often than not, this is the one act that can mitigate the impact of a mistake more than any other. The gut reaction of people affected by your error will be anger, frustration and disappointment. But human nature eventually will nudge them toward mercy if you are truly humble and contrite about a mistake.

Take a step back and get some perspective. Allow enough time to ensure that your solution to the problem is a proper one. Additional mistakes are more likely when you try to fix things too quickly.

Look for the positives in the situation. English clergyman Thomas Fuller once said, “A stumble may prevent a fall.” Consider the possibility that your mistake was actually a blessing that kept you from a bigger blunder.

Analyze what happened. What, if anything, was right about the process that led to the mistake? Where did the critical fault occur? What might have prevented it? Were there any blind spots on the road that led to the problem? Can they be avoided next time?

Decide how you'll do it differently in the future. Take what you learn from analyzing your error and plan an alternate route to your objective. There is nothing wrong with making mistakes. Just don't respond with encores.

Make it right. Do what you have to do to rectify the situation to everyone’s satisfaction. As much as possible, exceed the expectations of anyone affected by your mistake. “A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it is committing another mistake,” Confucius wrote.

Even if you clean up the mess you’ve made, no one is going to hold a parade in your honor. However, if you conduct yourself with integrity and dignity during the aftermath of a mistake, you will set the stage for even greater tolerance the next time you blow it.

When all else fails, remember that bigger mistakes than yours hang in the business hall of shame. Consider this epitome of executive stupidity:

In the mid-1970s, W.T Grant was one of the nation’s largest retailers. In an effort to increase sales, company executives decided to attract new customers by offering credit. They decided that the best way to motivate store managers to meet their credit quotas was to threaten them with humiliating negative incentives.

Underperforming managers were forced to push peanuts across the floor with their nose and to subject themselves to having pies thrown in their face. They were even required to walk through hotel lobbies wearing only diapers.

Not surprisingly, store managers gave credit to anyone who could fog a mirror, including untold thousands of customers who were bad credit risks. W.T. Grant accumulated $800 million worth of bad debts before it collapsed in 1977.

Oops!

Copyright 2002 © Mark S. Fulton