I recently posted one of my step-by-step discussions of how we build a piece of furniture; the more interesting of these discussions from our In The Shop blog become permanent articles in the library section of our custom furniture web site.
In this episode I discovered a mistake had been made in the piece of furniture and discussed my remedy for the error. Shortly after having posted the chapter I was hailed by a constant reader and frequent critic to ask, “Why in the world did you admit to having made a mistake? Doesn’t that undermine peoples’ confidence in your work?”
I asked him if he knew anyone who never, ever makes a mistake. What do you think of someone who claims to have never erred?
We all make mistakes now and again. How we handle those mistakes tells as much about us as does what kind of mistakes we make and how often we run afoul of them. Someone who cries and moans about things is generally met with a roll of the eyes and a “here we go again” look from their friends. No one wants to listen to someone wallowing in their misfortune, especially if it’s their own fault. Someone who tries to sweep their blunders under a rug or blame them on someone else will garner no trust from others.
Someone who can admit to having messed up, assess the situation and move on to a solution is just being a well adjusted human being. I like to think such was the case in this instance. I made a mistake in my calculations, devised a workable solution and executed it. If I attempt to portray myself as absolutely infallible others will see me as a puffed up bag of air. If I try to blame mistakes on… the dog… or simply deny them; I’m a liar. But if I am honest and present a truthful picture of myself – warts and all – people will know that I can be trusted not to deceive them.
At least that’s my theory. I don’t make a lot of mistakes, but when I do, I’ll fess up to them and do my best to make it right. Life is just simpler that way.
Beautiful! I think that admitting an error and ensuring complete customer happiness goes a long long way to making others realize, your customer care experience just cannot be replicated.
Good job!
Thanks, Barbara, for reading and for the kind words. Spamber Alert? Sound intriguing, I’ll have to go read that!
I would entirely agree with you – as a teacher and tutor, I have inevitably made mistakes from time to time… I seems to me that when you set yourself up as a purveyor of information, the only honest thing to do is to own up to having got it wrong, correct the mistake and move on.
I was interested to note that children were far more impressed at my readiness to own up to making mistakes – and my assertion that getting it wrong is part of the learning process. It’s depressing how distressed many children are when they cannot get it right first time in the classroom.
I should think so, S.J.; growing up thinking that others (like parents and teachers) get everything right the first time would ingrain unrealistic expectations that result in frustration and withdraw when they fail to achieve the same results. I’m glad you included the error factor in your teachings.
Is that a new web site? That’s pretty slick!
I totally agree. When I was a teacher I’d admit mistakes, kids crowed to start with, but as time when on I got respect for being honest with them. Integrity is an expensive and luxurious item, but it’s the one luxury I can’t do without. As usual good thoughts sir. Thanks for making my day better.
And you served as a proper example for those young minds. Kudos to you!
When I was a young apprentice toolmaker I was told: the man who never made a mistake never made anything.
I’ve heard a few variations on that, but all make a great point: we can’t let fear of failure keep us from trying. Thanks for joining in Chris!
Hi Allan. Found you through a Twitter link. What you write about is one of those issues that seems as if we should have a tacit understanding of it. But, in fact, its helpful to be reminded of it, out loud, as you have done. I’m sometimes on the edge of my seat, watching the news, urging our leaders to say those words to their constituents. I’m sorry, I made a mistake. How liberating that would be. Thanks for the post.
So True, Stephanie; politicians seem particularly impervious to truth-telling.