Navigating Mistakes Is Part Of The Process
How are you at navigating mistakes? Do you get hung up on them? Do you get stuck or worry about how things might look?
Some mistakes are catastrophic. Launching a rocket for a rendezvous with the International Space Station may not have much room or tolerance for a mistake.
Trying your skill at a new Excel formula or launching a new test marketing project may be about trial and error. Mistakes are easily overcome, and may even be considered part of the process.
You have a chance each day to decide how you will navigate mistakes you encounter. Certainly, not all mistakes have the same consequence.
The Slinky, Penicillin, and potato chips all originated from a mistake of sorts. Created by accident but later showing an unsuspected high value.
Every time you are trying to blaze a new path. Whenever you explore the previously unexplored, or you may simply be on a mission to lead, you have to realize that mistakes are part of the process.
Navigating Mistakes
You draft the important email message and review it twenty-five times.
Why?
It is a draft and you expect mistakes.
Yet the worry of imperfection often delays the process. Procrastination may set in, or you may decide to skip it altogether.
What happens when the effort is for the customer?
When the customer expects perfect, it is probably an assumption that the mistakes have already been made. The bugs or kinks have been worked out and the trial-and-error period is over. A warranty helps ease the risk.
Most great outcomes develop from a series of previously poor decisions, mistakes, or accidents.
Learning has both a cost and a value.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
