Recovering from human error | Sep 17th 2008
Last month I put my glass coffee carafe at the edge of the sink and then bumped it with my elbow when I reached for the sponge.
I could only watch helplessly as it fell to the kitchen floor and shattered into a million pieces, waking my husband. He found me hunched over a pile of glass at 7:00 a.m. trying to pick out the largest pieces so I could vacuum the mess. I’d turned to him then and said, “bad news.”
My husband came home later that day with a gleaming new carafe and it’s like nothing ever happened. Only now when I make coffee, I’m careful not to put the carafe at the edge of the sink.
The moment of sinking helplessness I felt when my elbow bumped the carafe is very similar to how I felt a couple of weeks ago when I discovered I made a mistake that cost one of my clients money. They were able to recover most of it, and I offered to pay the difference, but that doesn’t change the fact that it happened.
Mistakes at home are one thing. Most things broken are eventually forgotten or replaced. But making mistakes at work is a different story. They cost money and can wreak havoc with client relationships.
Still, a lot can be learned from making mistakes. From my perspective, mistake-management is a three step process, as follows.
Step one – Own up to it. It’s only human to get defensive when something goes wrong – whether it’s a tiny error (e.g., why don’t these numbers add up right?) to something major (e.g., how come you didn’t get this done when you said you would?) Recognizing that the mistake was my fault, explaining how it happened and apologizing is crucial to begin repairing the damage.
Step two – Preventing it from happening again. While there’s no way to prevent mistakes completely, there are ways to reduce errors. This may be as simple as setting up deadline alerts or having someone else double check my numbers. Creating a consistent process reduces mistakes is essential to rebuilding client trust.
Step Three – Get over it. When I make a mistake, I exhaust myself and those around me with my own undending regret. This isn’t good for my soul, my relationships or, in the long run, my business. Ultimately mistakes fade into obscurity and life goes on and that’s ok. If I’m lucky, I’ll get something out of it – like a brand new carafe or a great idea for improving my business.
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This article was originally published in the Poughkeepsie Journal on 9/6/08 under the title, “Goofed, Follow this 3-step recovery plan”