What are you like when you argue with someone?
Think about the last time you argued with someone about a mistake or error you had made. What role did you play? What are you like when you argue with someone? I know it's a bit of a confronting question for a Sunday, but take a minute to consider it.
Do you quickly own up to your faults? Do you avoid confrontation at all costs, preferring to walk away rather than to sit down and hash things out?
Do you just ignore the person you argued with until enough time has passed that your mistake is completely forgotten?
There is no right or wrong answer to these questions , but being aware of how we deal with mistakes is important if looking to grow your business.
I made a big mistake in one of the course offer emails I sent out. I could blame the lack of sleep (hey 4-month old) or that's it's launch week or the fact I'm madly trying to meet the manuscript deadline my publisher has set for my first business book. But all of those are simply excuses. Because this mistake was something I completely could have avoided if I'd taken a little extra time to check things.
When a beautiful client emailed me late at night asking if I had meant to include something in one of my course offer emails, I was immediately flushed with embarrassment. The thought of avoiding her email crossed my mind, but what good would that do? So, I owned up to it, admitted I had completely stuffed up and apologised.
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What's more, I took that mistake and added it straight into our Fool Me Twice Checklist.
What the...?
Yes , for every area of my business I have a basic Asana board which includes a Fool Me Twice Checklist. You may known the old adage: fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. While no business can operate perfectly, we try to learn from our mistakes then document them so we don't make them again.
Are there mistakes in your business you have yet to truly learn from? When things do go wrong (and hey, they will) do you learn from them and document them so that next time it's less likely to occur?
If not, I suggest you start your own Fool Me Twice Checklist. This can be for basically anything; on-boarding new customers / clients, creating sales pages, launching new product collections, pitching the media, shooting a campaign and virtually any other project that's likely to be repeated.
As the author Neil Gaiman has said:
"I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something."
Don't let mistakes get you down, . Own them, learn from them and document them so they become the lesson they're meant to be.
And, to my lovely client who raised this mistake with me, thank you.