mistakes Archives - Dennis E. Gilbert

16
Jul 21
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Navigating Errors or Setbacks, Are You Prepared?

Tags : backup plan errors mistakes plan b redundancy

Few people plan for navigating errors or setbacks, should you? Is that what some people call a plan B?

Mistakes happen, at least sometimes.

The recent launch by Virgin Galactic propelled its founder Richard Branson into space. What were the errors? Did no errors occur?

Preparedness accounts for much of the success that we witness.

When we watch an Olympic athlete, we often see a flawless performance. They might make things look easy.

It is true in many sports, many hobbies, and even in professional careers.

Errors are often fixed, overcome, or worked around. It may mean that a plan exists for some adjustment along the way, or perhaps past experience is used as a tool in an attempt to not make the same error twice.

Navigating Errors

Some might suggest that your life or career is a constant work in progress. Things happen, good luck as well as bad luck, seized opportunities and those that are missed.

Should you spend time planning for your reaction to errors, near misses, or other types of setbacks?

Does having a plan for navigating errors create a sort of self-fulfilled prophecy by creating a plan to fail?

There are people who argue against a plan B. There are others that may have a plan B, C, and even D.

In other cases, there may not be a secondary option. The only possibilities are complete success or complete failure. The options are only binary, one or the other, and no in-betweens.

Creating a plan to navigate errors doesn’t mean that you’ve created a plan to fail. It may mean that you’ve created a plan to succeed despite all odds.

An error caught early may prevent a catastrophic failure. Backup systems may keep things going. Building a form of redundancy may be the lifeline to support future success.

Insurance sometimes feels wasteful when not used.

That doesn’t mean that it is never a good idea.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), 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.

18
Dec 20
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Navigating Mistakes Is Part Of The Process

Tags : customer expectations innovation mistakes perfection

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

24
Sep 18
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Finding Solutions To Problems We Shouldn’t Have

Tags : finding solutions learning mistakes opportunities problem solving

One problem for many managers is that they believe they shouldn’t have any. Finding solutions to problems comes with the territory. How would you rate your ability to find solutions?

Most workplace problems, the ones that are still a problem, exist because they aren’t easily solved. If they were, they would be solved by now.

We’ve all probably heard that when you learn from mistakes, and in the future do it differently you’ve found some value in the misfortune. It is a good argument and good advice.

Once Upon a Time

When we learned to ride a bike, we made some mistakes. We learned to balance, pedal, and lean into the turns.

Taking the math exam probably unveiled some problems. Things like accuracy, trying to solve the problems the quickest. Hurrying because you don’t want to be last. Sometimes even our own handwriting caused errors.

We had to learn to slow down, budget our time appropriately, and reflect on our own work.

Later in life we started to learn more about navigating situations that involved people. We learned about sharing, caring, and listening more to understand instead of just respond.

Most of what we’ve done has included problem solving. Hits and misses, mistakes made, and changes put in place, then we try again.

Life can wear us down. In grade school we probably proclaimed “not fair.” Then an adult adjusted for fairness. Was that fair, or just another twist to the dilemma?

Finding Solutions

Finding solutions isn’t always easy.

As a workplace leader, regardless of title, position, or organizational position, we may accept that finding solutions is part of our job.

The solution may be learning a new way to balance, pedaling different to save energy, and leaning just right into the curves.

Solutions may involve accuracy, patience, and organizational skills.

We may have to navigate differently. Listen more, learn something new, and change habits.

If someone suggested it would be easy, they were wrong.

That is the great thing about leading. You find a way, or you invent one.

Problems are just invitation to get started. They are opportunities in disguise.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer. 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.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

08
Sep 17
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breakthrough dennis gilbert appreciative

When a Mistake Becomes a Breakthrough

Tags : breakthrough change confidence mistakes perfection

People worry a lot about making mistakes. It seems natural we want to make the correct decision. We want to avoid more cost, harsh repercussions, and disappointment. Mistakes aren’t always the end of the line though. Sometimes a mistake becomes a breakthrough.

Making Mistakes

It is often said that a mistake is not bad when you learn from it. Of course, that is reasonable advice and certainly adds value to what may seem really bad at the moment.

Innovation and growth often happen by mistake. Sometimes amazing breakthroughs will develop. It happened with penicillin, sildenafil (Viagra), and minoxidil (Rogaine). They were a big mistake, until they weren’t.

There is no doubt that mistakes can be costly. It is true in nearly any field, but not all mistakes will mean that it is over.

No Variance

Many times, we are taught that we must perfect the process. We need to get to the slightest variation, live and work within minimal and maximal tolerances, and once we produce the desired result, lock it in.

This all seems logical. It seems to make sense, until it doesn’t. It stops making sense when businesses and organizations decide that they need change.

When change is called for the logic is in danger. Now the exact ideology, the focus, the culture that exists around perfection is expected to shift gears and change. Even the concept of continuous improvement is more often about a focus on perfection, not change.

Becomes a Breakthrough

Often the forces driving perfection cause the most struggle. The idea to make something great is counterintuitive to making something new. Concepts of no failure, minimal waste, and fewer resources always make sense, until they don’t.

If you’re going to learn to ride the bike, you might fall. If you swing at the ball, you might miss. The exact project that you are working on might be riddled with errors. That error, that mistake you are worried about, it may be a breakdown, but it may also become a breakthrough.

The difference between the destination that you seek and the place that you arrive may become the best mistake you’ll ever make.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours!, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

07
Aug 17
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3 Ways to Get Over Mistakes in the Workplace

Tags : coaching errors mistakes recovery workplace

Nearly everyone will tell you that they’ve made some big ones. In the moment it might feel like all hope is lost. How do you get over mistakes?

We can often see two sides or two camps.

The first camp is the camp where you feel like all hope is lost. You feel like you will never recover from this one, or that you’ll be blacklisted forever.

The other camp is the camp where you really don’t recognize the severity. You down play it, or you blame someone else. If you think you might be in this camp, carefully self-assess.

Recognize and Accept

We often hear things like, “Learn from your mistakes,” or “it wasn’t your fault.” We certainly should be asking ourselves what we can learn. Often blame is not important or is irrelevant, think more about what happens next or now.

If you recognize that you’ve made a big mistake, you might first remember you are not alone. There are others in your camp.

How do you get over mistakes?

Here are a few things that might be important to keep in mind:

Beating yourself up really isn’t going to do much good. Certainly, we should recognize the error and take any corrective action seriously, but continuing to beat yourself up about it will not change the situation.
Focus on what you will do different the next time. It might mean keeping quiet and being patient. It might mean you need some additional skills. Perhaps it means that now you are fully armed and more capable than ever before to get the job done.
Recover as quickly as possible by focusing on moving forward. Reliving the mistake for learning purposes is okay, reliving to keep the mistake alive is probably not productive. Move forward, you’re going to do better work now.

Get Over Mistakes

One of the most interesting points to remember about mistakes is that those who have made them and have learned how to improve are perhaps better than those who never made them at all.

Do better. Get over it. Move on.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

08
Sep 15
-

Talk About Good

Tags : customer service failure mistakes success

What is the worst experience you’ve ever had? What is the best? Often people talk about bad customer service, they talk about mistakes, and they are chronically obsessed with what happens if they fail. The sad but brutal truth about this is that we all experience some bad customer service, we all make mistakes, and we all experience failure.

Let’s face it; it is harder to deal with bad customer service when compared with acceptable or fantastic service. It is easier to accept the outcomes when we received a top score, didn’t drop the ball, or surpassed the competition. Those stories feel good, they are easy to deal with, but yet many people only talk about the shortcomings, let downs, and disappointments.

Sometimes you have to wonder, is a focus on the bad preventing you from becoming great?

Try something new, talk about the good.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, corporate trainer, and keynote speaker that specializes in helping businesses accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. Reach him through his website at http://DennisEGilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

03
Jun 14
-

Acceleration and Mistakes

Tags : acceleration fast mistakes speed

If you’re moving fast chances are good you’re making some mistakes. The question then becomes, does your speed gain you enough ground to make up for the errors?

It seems nearly everyone is concerned about time, concerned about pace, speed, shortcuts, slow pokes, traffic jams, age, and when they’ll finish whatever it is that they have started. The meaning of success is in our individual ideology; success is different for everyone, but what about time? When you measure time it is the same for everyone, when you measure accomplishments it is different for everyone.

Success then, across a continuum of time is based on productivity, efficiency, and results. If you apply that logic it would seem that it is not about time, but it is about the quality of your use. Mistakes are valued by learners, learners take steps to improve, and quality ultimately comes from learning from your mistakes.

The best news may not always be the easiest. If life seems too short, or you’re spending too much time worrying about your mistakes, it probably means you’re just not going fast enough.

– DEG

Photo Credit: Matt Lemmon

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

Tag Archives: mistakes

Jul 21

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Navigating Errors

Dec 20

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Navigating Mistakes

Sep 18

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Once Upon a Time

Finding Solutions

Sep 17

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Making Mistakes

No Variance

Becomes a Breakthrough

Aug 17

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Recognize and Accept

Get Over Mistakes

Sep 15

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Jun 14

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