Mistake Cake
Mistake Management Month officially ends today. It seems only fitting that we celebrate its success. And what’s a celebration without cake?
And of course it must be Mistake Cake.
And of course – an explanation is in order. Read more
Mistake of the Week Award at Keebler Cookies & Crackers
We found another great article about Mistake of the Month and Mistake of the Week Awards – this one written by Bob Bapes, known as The IdeaDoc.
Here are a few excerpts. Note the sub-messages about morale & productivity.
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…I remembered a celebration of failure that we used when I was at Keebler Cookies and Crackers. We were an aggressive group of marketers without a lot of money. As a result, we were always trying something different, weird, cutting edge or outlandish in developing, promoting and advertising cookies and crackers….
Some of the ideas worked and many did not. In order to keep us focused on innovation and to make it ok to keep trying, we began celebrating our failures. We presented a traveling statue to the person who messed up the best the previous week….
The point we made is that it is ok to fail as long as the error is one of action, not inaction and that we learned from it.
Mistake of the Month Club can be just what you need to get your team to take the risks necessary to reach breakthrough ideas.
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You can read the entire article by clicking here.
I’ll hope you will read, enjoy and maybe even make a new discovery or two.
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Mistake of the Month Award at Brogan & Partners
We found a great article last week about Brogan & Partners’ Mistake of the Month Award.
And surprise! (or maybe not) – in the story is evidence of every element of mistake management needed to go from ignoring or hiding mistakes to celebrating them – boosting morale & productivity in the process.
- accept mistakes as part of “the plan”
- accept responsibility
- fix them quickly
- learn from them
- design or re-design systems to avoid recurrence
- nurture a culture that supports and even celebrates all of the above
(list from article entitled: Celebrating Mistakes)
The title of the Inc.com article: Everyone goofs from time to time. Here’s how one firm learns from its errors.
In it, author, Jennifer Gill states that CEO, Marcie Brogan started the award fourteen years ago to honor “employees who confess their blunders to the rest of the staff.”
Here’s a snippet from the article:
“Sharing a mistake is just as valuable as sharing a best practice,” Brogan says. “Everyone learns from it.” It wasn’t easy getting the first guilty parties to stand up. At first, Brogan “primed the pumps,” cajoling senior staffers to come clean during the agency’s monthly meeting. Now, it’s not unusual for two or three employees to fess up. The 60-person staff votes on the best mistake, with the winner snagging $50.
By the way – the article was written in 2005. I was curious to know if they still had the award.
On Friday, Jim Tobin who currently works there said, “We sure do. The philosophy is that one mistake is fine. Making the same mistake twice is not.”
I hope you’ll read the entire article which includes some example blunders and the resulting discoveries.
copyright 2009 – Jan Bolick, Business Class Inc
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Reward Mistakes? Are You Sirius?
A couple of weeks ago, I raised the question about giving rewards for making mistakes. Some people thought I had gone mad. Too much exposure perhaps, to the dog days of summer.
And – remember the invitation I issued at the beginning of the month? The invitation to share your mistakes with us?
Didn’t get much response from that at all.
Honestly – I’m not surprised. I mean – why would anyone do that? Especially when they have no clue who is going to be reading it. It could be very bad for business.
Even in a controlled environment. Even with secret handshakes to keep it “within these walls”. It could be very bad for business. And your career.
But if a team doesn’t talk about mistakes…how will they ever fix them?
Okay – one at a time they can fix them. Or at least patch over them. Slowly. Painfully. In a silo with fingers pointing out at all the other silos. Rarely getting to the root of the problem. With limited learning. Certainly not getting “full” benefit.
And just think – through it all – the customer gets to stew in waiting. Read more
Collecting Dirt
Lots of people like to collect dirt about their co-workers and bosses.
I hate when I hear that stuff. Most of it’s garbage anyway. And it’s a good indication that morale and productivity are in the dump.
What about collecting a different kind of dirt – the kind you get when you keep the real garbage out of the real dump?
Not many businesses do this because of the hassle. But this little guy (looks a bit like Darth Vader doesn’t it?) can easily tuck into a corner somewhere.
Nothing to build. It just sits on the dirt and the worms will come. Read more
Just In Time Management
Are you familiar with Just In Time Management?
Well – today is National Cherry Popsicle Day.
And it’s just in time because it’s a gazillion degress out there!
If you’re like my friend, Chip, you don’t like cherry popsicles and wonder if it’s okay to have another flavor. We consulted the organizers of National Cherry Popsicle Day and their official answer is: Any kind of fruit-sicle will do.
So go grab your favorite fruity flavor and enjoy every lick.
Even better, how about if we each grab a box and pass it around at the staff meeting today?
Don’t have a meeting today? How about making the rounds for desk-to-desk-delivery?
We could even deliver boxes to clients (with freezers)!
It’s something different. A bit of fun. To loosen things up. Break the tension. Break down walls.
While all of this may sound like bunch of nonsense, there’s a real good chance that it will help with some serious business like mistake management, productivity, morale, and even customer loyalty.
And – there is certainly wisdom in all of that.
copyright 2009 – Jan Bolick, Business Class Inc
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How To Get True Confessions
In many organizations – mistakes are hidden or covered up.
Those that do leak out…well….
You didn’t hear this from me but did you hear about what so and so did? Maybe he’ll finally get the boot this time.
Oh really? I heard it was his fault? Well – all I know is that I had NOTHING to do with it.
And thank goodness for that! I have enough problems of my own. Speaking of which – I’d better go clean ‘em up right now before someone else stumbles across them. You know who I mean!
Is that the way people discuss mistakes in your organization?
Is there any benefit to that approach besides giving Gabby Gossip and Nosy Nelly something to talk about?
More valuable benefits can be gained – Read more
How to Get “Full” Benefit
We got some good questions about the exploratory questions listed in How to Pay Attention to Mistake Management.
The last two on the list are:
- Am I/are we getting full “benefit” from these mistakes?
- Do I/we need to manage mistakes any differently so that we do get full “benefit”?
Are you wondering what “full benefit” means?
It means – if a mistake is going to be made “on your watch” or “on your budget” – are you getting full “benefit”?
Are you getting:
- a staff that now fully understands the consequences of ignoring procedures?
- a brand new system that improves efficiency?
- a boost in customer loyalty like in the Domino’s story?
- a stronger partnership with a client?
- maybe even an extended contract like the one from Mack in Mississippi?
- boosts in customer loyalty, morale AND productivity described in What a Mess?
That’s a list of example benefits. Now what about the “full” part?
“Full” benefit is a lot like a “good” return on investment. Read more
What a Mess
Did I tell you about the time I made the mistake of doing exactly what our client asked me to do?
Sounds a little strange, but this is what happened and what it did to customer loyalty, productivity and morale.
We were way ahead of schedule on some books we were printing for a school in South Carolina. The insides and cover had been printed and would be bound together that afternoon. All 375 boxes of books would be on a truck by early evening for the short trip from North to South Carolina. We would be a record 20 days ahead of our deadline!
Our contact at the school was ecstatic and had notified everyone that the books would be there the next day. Campus mail was on stand by to distribute boxes to the various buildings. An announcement was already in the campus newspaper. She was already being heralded as a hero for getting the books to campus earlier than ever! And we were her heroes.
Then came a phone call from the bindery foreman.
He said, “Do you really want this cover on this book? There is a typo on the spine. University is spelled U-n-i-v-e-r-s-t-i-y.”
Mistake Management Tips from Mick Mixon
Do people feel safe talking with you about their mistakes – seeing it as an opportunity to learn and grow? Or do they hide them to avoid getting grilled, beaten up – or maybe even fired? The former is certainly better for morale and productivity – a much better approach for enhancing organizational performance.
In thinking about that, I remembered a something Mick Mixon shared during a Business Class interview – a very wise approach to mistake management, one that would help most everyone feel safe. Listen to the interview excerpt (about 1 1/2 minutes long) right here.
Click here to play.
A great management reminder about the power and importance of questions. About gathering information from the “mistakee” before making accusations and preaching lessons to be learned. All in an effort to enhance competence without diminishing spirit, enthusiasm and commitment.
copyright 2009 – Jan Bolick, Business Class Inc
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