With Super Bowl Sunday around the corner, the football analogy is appropriate. The “winning” moments are engraved in our psyche as indelibly as the missed field goal or the turnover of the ball to the opponent during a winning championship drive. Some are lucky to bask in fame — others dwell in infamy.
The proverbial “fumble” in business takes prominence over the many good things that one individual may accomplish. A lost contract, a missed assignment, or perceptual characterization of an interaction as showing lack of responsiveness affect our reputations and consequently the bottom line.
Unfortunately, we rarely get a second chance to make a first impression and we can seldom go back and fix what’s broken. The key is to learn from our mistakes and avoid the same errors a second time.
I treat mistakes and missed assignments as teaching moments for myself and for others.
The goal is to develop a culture of learning, reflection, and continuous improvement.
About Hemant Rustogi