Company Blog

Make no mistake about it

by Adam Zack — August 16, 2023

The people not making mistakes are the ones not doing anything at all.

I make a lot of mistakes. Every single day. Every day there are things I would have done differently, or not at all. Things I would have said differently, or things unsaid that I should have. The people not making mistakes are the ones not doing anything at all. Just letting it ride and leaving no wake as they putt through life, trying their best not to rock the boat of the universe. A great teacher once told me that his acceptable level of failure is 30%. You make a lot of decisions, try a lot of things, do vast amounts of work and if 70% are successful, you’re doing pretty damn good. It’s the people who have a track record of really being great employees, or just great humans in general, who, when they make a notable mistake, really pay the toll. Expectations are high for the do-ers in your company. They make things happen. They are leaders. They are the example. And sometimes they make a big mistake. It could result in a big financial loss. Or it could affect customer confidence in your store. Sometimes orders are not sent before a big holiday, costing you money in lost sales. Mistakes happen, and nearly always unintentional and are learned from. Those people of yours who make mistakes are usually hardest on themselves. They learn from them and don’t make that mistake again. It’s how you, as owners and high-level leaders, address those mistakes that affect the course of your business. No one takes a bad mistake harder than your greatest workers. They play the situation over and over in their mind, wishing they could change the outcome. It’s like holding very tightly to a heavy rock. The rock impedes their performance because it’s always there and they just can’t let go. They can’t begin to forgive themselves for their mistakes. It’s you who has the power to help them put down the rock and use both hands to do what they do best – make your business better, keep your customers happy, and add to your profitability. If you don’t help expedite the forgiveness process – forgiving themselves, forgiving from management and co-workers, well, that’s the biggest mistake of all.