Mistakes.
You can't live with them!
You won't succeed without them!
And if you strive for perfection, you'll never get there. In fact, you will always wrestle with that conundrum and might never learn what you need to do to do better with your process of making your mistakes! Mistakes can actually be an asset - not a hindrance - if you approach them with the right attitude. That's why confronting your mistakes is one of the most important things you can do!
Mea culpa should be your guiding phrase.
Mea culpa is a Latin phrase that means "my fault" or "my mistake" and is an acknowledgement of having done wrong. The expression is used also as an admission of having made a mistake that should have been avoided,
Here's the thing about a mea culpa mindset - I don't like the part of that definition that suggests the mistake should have been avoided. I believe that mistakes are healthy, natural, and a major part of how we can become successful. I've certainly learned this along the way!
Two days ago, I realized I made a mistake with a certain aspect of my business - I screwed up. After a rather sleepless night, I knew what I had to do - admit to it, fix it, and move on. Damn, once I was done fixing it, it felt pretty good! And the reaction of everyone who was involved or impacted was pretty darned positive! That was easier than I thought!
And so yesterday, I spent some time thinking to myself about what we can learn from the process of making mistakes.
- sometimes you make a mistake that you need to roll back. The hardest thing to be admitting that you need to do so. But rolling back is a necessary part of moving forward.
- fix things fast, because, in this new complex world, things can break faster than ever before!
- don't hide from your mistakes - adopt a mindset that you must confront them
- own your mistake. It's YOUR mistake. Not someone else's. Stop assigning blame. Own it.
- don't hide from your mistakes - confront them
- and stop making excuses for your mistakes - when you do that, you're just trying to hide from them!
- accept that mistakes will happen and are a part of the process!
- when things go wrong, learn what can go right
- identify exactly what went wrong, and exactly what you can do to make it right going forward
- don't fear making a mistake - anticipate them
- and be willing to admit that you blew it - denial is one of the worst things you can do when it comes to mistakes
- don't overplay the significance of the mistake - it probably isn't the end of the world!
- put the "lessons learned" mindset into practice - don't forget them. Remember them!
- accept that making mistakes is a natural part of success and achieving progress
- accept that in today's fast-paced environment, mistakes will happen faster!
- when others are involved, talk about the mistake. A clear, open, honest, reactive strategy is in your best interest. More communication is the best rule.
- be open. Solicit feedback - get others on the side with your mistake - and how to fix it
- realize that to a degree, making mistakes and fixing them is the new business model. The whole world is all a beta -- Google gets this, and you should get this too!
- solicit the ideas of others as 'fixers'. You might not know how to fix the mistake but others do. Ge their help. That's not a bad thing!
- have a personal escalation plan. When things go wrong, be prepared to move faster - work them quickly. Don't let them fester.
- don't obsess over them. Fix it. Move on!
- learn from the experience. Learn how to do it better the next time.
Mistakes. Live with them. Because you won't live without them!
Jim 'Mea Culpa' Carroll learned how to make a stink bomb in Grade 3 and told his friends about it. They egged him on, and he set one off in the classroom and then in the bathroom. BIG mistake - his parents were not amused when they were called into the principal's office. He learned from the mistake and didn't do it again.
Yesterday's short from yesterday's post.
Enjoy!