Oops

Previously we discussed mistakes, and the realization that everyone makes them. We must realize that no one is perfect. No matter how hard we try to be perfect, we will make mistakes, but it is what we do afterwards that makes us what we are.

Whenever we post anything online or publish anything for ourselves or our business, we must make sure that it is as close to perfect in the structure as well as the content. The structure includes the spelling, typographical configuration, and grammar. The content must also be without error and should inform, even if the reader has a different opinion from the author.

Last week, this blog was posted on its regular blog site, and the link to that site was posted on social media and on LinkedIn. When the blog link is posted on LinkedIn, it is as part of discussions in various groups on LinkedIn for others to read and post their comments if they wish.

When last week’s blog link was posted to LinkedIn, there was a spelling error in the discussion title. This error was present in the discussion title in each and every group in which it was posted. The word “Dreams” was misspelled as “Deams”. This was not a major error, just a typo. However, it was a mistake, proving that the author is not perfect and was guilty of poor implementation.

Everything that we say, do, or publish reflects on us our business. Therefore, while we must strive to be as near to perfect as possible, we may make mistakes from time to time. We should be held accountable for those errors and how we react to their existence, but perhaps the errors themselves will give us insight to better procedures in the future. We must learn from these mistakes.

Publishing any information on social media, in publications, or even in our discussions with others requires us to review what we put forth, previous to the publication. We must think twice, or even 3 times, prior to publication, and not allow the stress of time or other factors make us take shortcuts which may be paved with error possibilities. To do otherwise fosters the possibility of mistakes.

Perhaps stopping to breathe before we click on “Send” or “Enter” would be a wise strategy. Perhaps always having someone else review our work for content and maybe a second person review it for structure would be a better procedure. Anything that we can do to prevent a blunder on our part would be a benefit. However, we are all only human and, none of us is perfect.

Mistakes will be made by all of us sooner or later. It is how we react to our mistakes and what we do to acknowledge and/or correct them that distinguishes our business practices. It is how we react to the mistakes of others that defines our networking partnerships. We must be as forgiving as we would wish others to be. We must understand and support our partners and assist them to be better communicators.

We should learn from our mistakes and teach our partners to do the same. Our partners with whom we have strong relationships will help us work through our errors, and we must do the same for them. If we “own” our mistakes and recover in the right manner, our relationships will be even stronger. Please leave your comments here, or email me at Jim@JimTeasley.com, or call me at 360-314-8691.