Theme for the Month: Mistake Management

By: Jan Bolick

September 3, 2010

No matter hard we try, we will make mistakes from time to time.

The true test for us as individuals and as leaders is how we manage those mistakes….what we do with them…what we learn from them….what we create from them.

The way we manage mistakes can be a make it or break it point for external customers. If we do it poorly, we not only lose the customer and the associated revenue but we likely lose their friends who could have been our customers. If we manage the mistake masterfully, however, we keep the customer – maybe even for life.

The way we manage mistakes can be a break point for internal customers (our boss, colleagues, employees) as well. If we do it poorly, they will soon grow tired of dealing with angry customers and cleaning up messes; and they will lose confidence in our abilities. For the organization’s sake, let’s hope the boss lets us go before our employees walk out on us. But if we manage mistakes masterfully, we provide:

opportunities to create or improve products or systems that help us avoid future mistakes.
tools, permission and authority needed so that each member of our team can quickly and confidently handle mistakes when they do occur.
opportunities for deeper trust relationships.
a safe environment for sharing concerns or mistakes that may normally hidden from you.
an open, even fun, place for tossing around whacky ideas that may never amount to anything but…you know…things like the light bulb, post-it notes, cell phones, Twitter, Facebook and iPads).
a culture where people work hard to do their work without making mistakes, but don’t live in fear of making them.

If we can do all of that, the boss will not want to let us go. In fact, the boss may very well be calling us to find out our secrets to success.

Obviously, there is a lot at stake when mistakes are made. And when mistakes are met by masterful mistake management, there is much to celebrate.

Will you join us in our efforts to raise awareness of this vital tool for business success?

Ways to Participate in Mistake Management Month

Share the Quote of the Week with everyone at your office. A new one is posted each Monday at 8:08 AM.

Include ”Mistake Management” as an agenda item for staff meetings.

Share stories with them (see Related Articles – items marked in red have good stories for this.

Ask participants to share stories of their own. We’d love it if you would pass these along to us.

Include case studies in your staff meetings. See: 10 “Mistakes” to Maximize.

Use these conversations as a launch pad for developing or fine tuning your own Mistake Management Plan.

At any point desired and as often as desired, serve Mistake Cake to celebrate.

Plus

Invite Jan to make a presentation to your management group entitled: ”Keep your job. Master Mistake Management”.
Hire Jan to work directly with you to master mistake management.
Hire us to facilitate a group retreat designed to develop or fine tune your Mistake Management Plan.

For more information on any of these, send an email to: jan@businessclassinc.com.

We look forward to reading your stories. Meanwhile, we invite you to use our Quote of the Week (below) as wallpaper for your computer.

*And if you are wondering, here’s how to make Mistake Cake.

Jan is a coach, teacher, speaker and author who is passionate about performance management and corporate culture.

Her coaching specialty is working with women in leadership to take charge more effectively, make things happen and inspire others to do the same.

Find out how to get a free consult here

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More about Jan

This quote is from the Be a Better Manager: Managing Projects, Problems and Mistakes section of our Quote Library which contains 153 motivational and instructional quotes for business.

To use the above quote as wallpaper for your computer, go to Quote of the Week: On Mistakes & Discovery.

Or enter Quote Library .

The 2010 Mistake Management Series: