Company Blog

The Hardest Words

by Adam Zack — August 12, 2015

IMG_0094CROP A while back I recounted something my Uncle Butch (yes, that’s his real name) told me about waterskiing. “If you’re not falling, you’re not trying.” It really is applicable to most anything in life worth doing, If you’re not failing at times, or making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough. Even someone named Perfecto (supposedly he makes the best Paella in Los Angeles) makes mistakes. Excellent managers realize that their team is going to make errors, miss targets, under or over estimate and fail sometimes. It is the effort that counts – when it’s well thought out, planned and executed with the best intentions. The upside of making a mistake is the learning portion that comes with it, and the result of the next effort being better than the previous one.

But this is not about making mistakes and doing better the next time. It’s about what to do when you do make a mistake. Human nature is to hope no one notices. The Blame Game is very popular, as is the Denial Shuffle and the It Doesn’t Really Matter Two Step. So when we make a mistake, the hardest part often is owning up to it, and the hardest words are I’m Sorry. And not the eye-rolling, “Sorrrr-ryyyy” like you used to give your mom. Or the half dismissive “Uh, yeah, sorry” that you mumble out. No, real learning comes from examination of our errors and being thoughtful of how they have affected others. It’s taking responsibility. If it involves a customer, it’s the sincerity they appreciate and you doing what you can to make it right. The best word-of-mouth can be the result of a mistake. For example, your produce buyer wrote his ad with strawberries at .99 instead of 1.99 like he meant to. The ad printed and you wrote a retraction letter stating the correct price. Mrs. Crabapple came in with the ad looking for those 99 cent strawberries and was unhappy the mistake had been made. However, you have known Mrs. Crabapple for years and she’s a regular, if somewhat hard to please, shopper. You gave her the strawberries for 99 cents, AND you bought her a cup of coffee and thanked her for her business and understanding. She goes home and tells all the gals in the book club and shazam, for $2.50 you created great word of mouth. All from a mistake.

Mistakes are humbling and often painful, but they make us better personally, professionally and spiritually. If you’re not making them, you’re not trying. And if you’re not trying, I really am sorry.