TODAY’S MISTAKES ARE TOMORROW’S SUCCESS
We’re all familiar with the saying ‘don’t cry over spilt milk’. But how easy is that to do in business; particularly when it involves real losses?
Mistakes are unavoidable. There is nothing you can do about them. For as long as you have people working or living together, mistakes will happen.
Mistakes have cost me a lot of money in the past. But as a rule, I don’t get worked up after the first one, I don’t lose sleep over it, and I do not raise my voice at anybody. Even when it’s a big mistake, I understand it’s human nature and the way life sometimes goes. Thankfully I’ve been able to manage that fine.
However, I work very hard to ensure we don’t make the same mistake a second time and the key is to learn from them. It takes great effort to learn from your mistakes, and I am way better at it in the business world than at home. When it comes to Kathy and I, I approach mistakes in two different ways. There are mistakes you make as a couple which are easier to talk about, there are mistakes that you make personally which I learn from, and then there are mistakes that your spouse would make which is much harder. It varies person to person, but what I’ve learned is to avoid getting heated and worked up, and instead approach it as a learning opportunity. This is an area that I continue to grow and learn.
Learning from your mistakes is a topic of great importance to me. Over the years of doing business, I have compiled a list of investment learnings that cost me dearly and I learned the hard way. Every time I learned from a mistake, I knew I did not want to make the mistake again, I wanted to be better the next time and so I would put it down on a list. I have now developed systems that will highlight and figure out when something goes wrong. This process done over time has produced huge returns for me.
A basic system would include the following steps:
Review in detail what happened
Being in business there are deals that don’t go as planned. Take for example when I was still working in corporate America. I’ve previously shared that I strongly believe it’s better to be an expert at a few things rather than good at a lot of things. However, when we were initially starting out, the marketing team would frequently put out a set of initiatives and our operations team would be doing their best to catch up, measure and analyze those initiatives. I eventually sat down and questioned what was working and what wasn’t. The results allowed us to aggressively trim and create more margin for what we saw as a better fit for the company. This focus and learning allowed us to become experts in our field and our value was felt both by our clients and the industry.
Create a game plan to avoid making the same mistake in the future
Define what you and your team have learned, what you need to do the next time and what to avoid in future. I drive these lessons all the time. Because of that my team members are aware if a mistake is made the second time, the team is held accountable and if it happens a third time, then you’re gone.
Practice what you preach. As you hold your team to a high standard, remember to hold yourself to at least the same standard or a higher one. As the leader, it’s your job to set and maintain the standard. Once you hold that position, the company will rise to that standard.
Maintain a log of all learnings and group them together by category
Whichever style you work, work hard to make sure you don’t make the same mistake twice. The most effective way is to take time and write it all down. I always try to deal with issues as they arise and if I can’t do it then, I make sure to come back and capture the learnings.
One of the tools that I use to log learnings is lists. I create a list based on the particular area of concern and then keep updating it each time I learn something. I find lists useful as I can also share them with others. Whenever you’re learning something in an important aspect in life, I encourage you to start that list so that you can go back to it.
When you put it in writing, you understand it better, can reflect on it, work through solutions and refer to it in future. If you leave it up to your mind you will forget and repeat it over and over. Our minds are just not that good and we need to make use of tools that will help support and log any learnings we make along the way.
Create the right environment to allow your team to learn from mistakes
Avoid getting angry the first time a mistake is made. By doing this, you help create an environment that your team will like working in. Fear takes away rather than builds. Develop a space where one understands though mistakes happen – they must be taken seriously. Below are a few ideas to support this:
- Require your team to be candidly honest with you, and you provide the same in return. The world teaches that if you’re not caught, you’re honest. If you’re not proven guilty, you’re honest. I challenge you to maintain a true standard of honesty in your world. It will save you a lot of frustration and pay more dividends in return. My view is you can work through anything if you are honest.
- Avoid office politics and do not participate in it. Try and minimize it at every opportunity.
- Clearly communicate your expectations upfront. Be sure they are fully understood and put in writing. When you allow a team member the opportunity to contribute to solutions then business goals are achieved much faster. Once everyone is clear on expectations then you can hold them accountable. You cannot hold them accountable if you have not clearly communicated.
- Build a win-win environment for all on your team. Let everyone participate in the success you achieve together. An effective way is by developing a bonus structure that rewards every individual for their participation, service and sacrifice in advancing the company’s plan. You can read more about creating a win-win environment in this blog on Negotiation.
- Complete reviews on a timely basis and capture all key discussions, outcomes and goals in writing. Ensure you address all shortfalls and mistakes as well as identify and encourage all accomplishments.
Review learnings as appropriate
Remember, with every mistake there’s a lot to learn and the whole company can benefit from it. Don’t waste time and money on things that just aren’t going to work. Learn to say no quickly and move on to areas that are working. Don’t get distracted by trying to prove out an idea; instead learn to quickly identify what is optimal and trim the rest.
Like a dog that returns to its vomit, a fool does the same foolish things again and again. People who think they are wise when they are not, are worse than fools.
Proverbs 26:11-12
ACTION STEPS
Things happen sometimes that are completely out of our control. But it’s important to acknowledge them and do the best to ensure they don’t happen again. As leaders our role is to learn from the mistakes made and plan for future success.
I encourage you to find a few minutes, sit quietly with a notebook and pen. Think back to a mistake that has cost you – either recently or in the past. It could be financial, a relationship or even business related. Go through the steps outlined above and clearly write down all the outcomes and learnings. Get into the habit of doing this on a personal and corporate level as mistakes happen.
What are some of the lessons you have learned from mistakes made in the past? Please share them in the comments section.
