sean goedecke

Making mistakes at work is inevitable and necessary for growth. When you screw up, control your emotional reaction first—avoid both making excuses and self-flagellation. Wait 30 seconds to a few minutes before acting. Communicate the problem to your manager immediately and matter-of-factly, before you've solved it, to avoid worse scenarios where others discover it independently. Accept that mistakes will hurt your reputation somewhat, but managers judge you on overall results, not individual failures. The optimal number of mistakes isn't zero—if you never make mistakes, you're probably taking too few risks and moving too slowly.

On screwing up

<p>Makes me think of an anecdote from my time in the military.  A guy had reported to his new ship, and, like all things, there wasn’t enough time to hand off to the person he was replacing.  So the guy who was leaving said, “Hey, here are three envelopes, numbered, when you make a mistake, open the first one, your second mistake open the second”  A few months goes by and the new guy makes a mistake.  He opens number 1 and sees, “Blame the last guy”  So, he does, gets a mild chewing out and moves on. A year later, he makes another mistake.  He opens number 2.  “Take the hit.”  So, he owns the mistake and decides to be more diligent.  As he’s ending his tour and has only a few months until his relief arrives, he makes a third mistake.  Opening number 3, he finds, “Get three envelopes…”</p>
