Learning from your mistakes, and sharing what you learn, can be profitable. Sharing lessons may be transparency at its best. No one is perfect. No one will start a religion after any of us. I believe most of us are looking for others we can trust. Let me ask, who do you trust – someone who shares their mistakes (and lessons) or those who present a pristine, mistake-free exterior? Have you ever made a mistake with a customer? I have more than once, and it could happen again. So, what do you do? Begin by correcting the mistake, learn from it, and when appropriate, share it. Don’t just learn from your mistakes share the lesson.
Don’t just Learn from your Mistakes Share the Lesson
- Apologize – Reacting defensively, pointing fingers, or passing the blame will only fuel the fire.
- Take responsibility – Suck it up and take responsibility.
- Initiate a solution – Fix the problem. Do it right, quick, and exceed your customer’s expectations. Ask yourself, “What could take them from disappointment to becoming an advocate of our business?”
- Learn from the mistake – Was there a procedure? Was it followed? Was it consequential? Is training required? Is a new procedure needed? Should there be corrective action?
- Implement a procedure – Agree on a procedure. And then, to avoid mistakes in future – train, use, and monitor it.
- Share it – Post the mistake on your website, record a video, write a blog, and share it on social media.
Look Who’s Talking
It is important to know what is being said about your organization. It’s easy and convenient to track your company’s online reputation. Google Alerts send you emails alerts about your organization, niche, and interests. TweetDeck and Hootsuite can not only be used to organize your social media but to keep track of your organization, customers, competitors and more. Advanced searches can be used for specific searches including geographies, attitudes, and phrases.
Can You Be Too Transparent?
What mistakes should you share? Should you share all of them or a few of them? Could too much sharing seem like self-promotion, and not transparency? I believe the answer is to share important lessons. If you haven’t learned something from your mistake, what would you have to share? The best lessons transcend across industries. Ask yourself, “Can others learn from my lesson?”
Too many admissions, when not necessary, can also make a company look incompetent.
There’s A Bonus
Doing the right thing is fun. There is something fulfilling about taking responsibility. It feels good to apologize. It’s great to help customers get what they expect and deserve – and, it can be profitable. So, don’t just learn from your mistakes share the lesson.
How Can I help?
I like to help people and organizations, but I have three criteria I consider before taking an assignment – I believe in what the organization stands for, I know I can help, and it looks like fun. If you have any questions, Contact Me.
Does your business have a management training plan? Many organizations, large and small, use my book, The New Manager’s Workbook a crash course im effective management, as the basis for their leadership development program.
Photo Credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/5jqSxgQ6TD4
