Five year old Johnny couldn’t stand to make a mistake. So he just denied making every single one.
His mother was concerned. In an effort to help him understand that it was okay to make mistakes, she started a “campaign” to tell him about the ones she made.
“Uh-oh, I put too much milk in the cookie dough.”
“Oops, made a mistake. I didn’t bring all the library books.”
“Rats! I spilled another cup of coffee.”
You get the gist.
After a few days of this, little Johnny said to his mother, “Mom, you sure do make a lot of mistakes.”
Why do I share this story? As you work to get “full” benefit from the mistakes made in your organization, it would be easy for everyone (including you) to forget about the good stuff you do…the great progress your company has made…the strength of your staff members…
So it’s important for you to help them remember.Do this frequently so that discussions about mistakes don’t overshadow the wonderful success you have to celebrate.
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Note: If by chance you are short on successes to celebrate at the moment…dig deeper. Don’t hesitate to celebrate even the smallest win. And then stay focused on the goal. The quote below might help you as well.
copyright 2009 – Jan Bolick, Business Class Inc
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For more quotes that can help you and your team deal with setbacks, go to the Get 2 Goal – Dealing with Setbacks section of our Quote Library .
