No matter how hard we try to avoid making mistakes, there is no way to avoid them altogether.

So what do we do when we make them?

We can ignore them.

Or hide them.

Or blame others.

We can lose relationships over them.

And lose business because of them.

Leading us right back to the dog days of summer which Webster describes as “a period of stagnation or inactivity”. John Brady described them as a time when ““the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies”. From Clavis Calendarium, by John Brady, 1813.

Or we can beat the heat by:

• accepting mistakes as part of “the plan”
• accepting responsibility
• fixing them quickly
• learning from them
• designing or re-designing systems to avoid recurrence
• nurturing a culture that supports and even celebrates all of the above

When a company can beat the heat in this fashion, most people think it’s cool. And it’s not unusual for morale, productivity and customer loyalty to soar as a result.

We’ve collected lots of stories that demonstrate all those bulleted items in action and look forward to sharing them with you in upcoming posts.

We’d love for you to send us some of your own stories about mistakes made and managed. Just share them in the comments box below.

And then come back and enjoy some good reading that will help all of us learn more about managing mistakes in a way that enables us to not only learn from them, but celebrate them!

copyright 2009 – Jan Bolick, Business Class Inc

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