A Strategy for Handling Mistakes

Don Miller is one of my favorite authors. His book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years remains a favorite of mine.

Like most authors these days, he blogs on the internet. I follow it. He recently wrote about a public comment he made that he wished he hadn’t made. He listed his checklist for dealing with it. You can read it here >>

Whether it is misspeaking or mistaking, it’s good to have a strategy for fixing it.

Moving fast is good. Letting a mistake sit there allows it to fester.

Admitting fault is good. Be sincere. Be humble.

Explanations should be short. Miller says no excuses. My experience is the longer an explanation, the more it sounds like an excuse.

Apologies are almost always necessary. They bring humility to the situation which helps.

Learning is important. Repeating the same mistake over becomes tiresome to all involved.

Forgiveness is grace. Expressing gratitude for it helps healing.

Move ahead. Done well, these actions clean up the scene of the crime. It is best to move on.

This works with your customers, whether internal or external. This works with your family. It works in relationships, teams, enterprises.

Is this similar to your plan?