{"id":7477,"date":"2018-12-27T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csuiteold.c-suitenetwork.com\/advisors\/?p=7477"},"modified":"2019-01-03T10:06:54","modified_gmt":"2019-01-03T16:06:54","slug":"8-necessary-steps-to-make-your-mistakes-write","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/csuiteold.c-suitenetwork.com\/advisors\/8-necessary-steps-to-make-your-mistakes-write\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Necessary Steps to Make Your Mistakes WRITE!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

One of our favorite topics is making mistakes write. Yes, WRITE, like W-R-I-T-E, not just RIGHT. When we started Barefoot Wine, we made so many mistakes that we became experts at it. It then felt natural to create a process for making mistakes.<\/p>\n

Our company was a success, but it was built on a foundation of mistakes. Our contracts were just three pages long when we started our business, but 20 years later, when we sold it, they were 37 pages long! We made 34 pages of mistakes along the way.<\/p>\n

And that isn\u2019t even the half of it! Our mistakes actually made all of our company\u2019s documentation even better, beyond contract clauses. How? Well, we never put a good mistake to waste!<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s our guide to making mistakes write:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Permission<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Make sure you and your people have permission to make mistakes, as long as they do so in a way that betters your company. Many new hires come from environments that frown upon mistakes, whether that be their school, family, or a previous employer. They could\u2019ve been embarrassed, punished, or even worse\u2014fired\u2014for making a mistake. You can\u2019t blame them for not wanting to admit to their mistakes! And you can\u2019t blame them for quick fixes, throwing a patch on the problem, saying, \u201cYeah, there was an issue, but it\u2019s fine now.\u201d That attitude must be changed with a culture of permission. Of course, if they are simply incompetent, they have to go. But sometimes, even the most competent person is afraid to admit to a mistake.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Admission<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Yes, you must admit when a mistake is made. Avoid exacerbation and cover yourself. It\u2019s always better when you own up, apologize, and develop a plan to prevent the mistake from happening again. We refer to this as, \u201cAim, don\u2019t blame!\u201d Blame makes you a victim and it\u2019s disempowering. Take ownership and aim your energy on preventing the mistake in the future. To put it simply, be responsible and clean up your own mess.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Cause<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        All mistakes are caused by a misconception, misrepresentation, or miscommunication. Identifying these factors is your first step in making a mistake write. We\u2019re all guilty of assuming something about the other person\u2019s actions, and when we\u2019re wrong, things don\u2019t go well. As someone once said, \u201cA-s-s-u-m-e: It makes an ASS out of U and ME!\u201d When you can nail down the cause, you\u2019re already on your way to improvement.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Documentation<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Identify any documents that need to be created, fixed, or improved in order to prevent future mistakes. Yes\u2014documents! It could be a checklist, a job description, a signoff sheet, a procedure, a label, or even a clause in a contract. Maybe it\u2019s a big sign above a low ledge that reads, \u201cDUCK!\u201d<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Write!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Write everything down. The mistake, the causes, and all revised documents that must be incorporated into your company. Get others involved in this process. Ask your people for suggestions and opinions, and ask other companies as well. Then, you can create new policies and procedures that will prevent the mistake from reoccurring as often. Just one mistake can improve several documents at the same time.<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Approval<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              If your revised documents get lost in the shuffle and are just filed and forgotten, you\u2019ve wasted all your time. You need to get everyone involved. Distribute the new policy and make sure everyone signs off on it. Think about those outside of your company that need to give their approval, too. This is a great way to dissolve hard feelings and to prevent putting others at fault. Create a log where all of these signoffs are kept\u2014this is a useful training tool for new hires. They can see proof of mistakes made and how the new policies and procedures will prevent them in the future.<\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Acknowledgement<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                If someone on your team makes a mistake, but makes it \u201cwrite\u201d, publicly acknowledge them. People thrive on a higher authority\u2019s validation, and on their peers\u2019 approval. Simply write a memo and distribute it to the whole team: \u201cSusan noticed an ongoing problem and improved our procedures to prevent it from happening again.\u201d Now, you\u2019ll notice three things will happen. First, everyone will know who Susan is, what she does for the company, and how she made the company better. Then, they\u2019ll know that they\u2019ll also be appreciated when they resolve an issue. Lastly, Susan is motivated to continue improving the company.<\/p>\n

                 <\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. And repeat!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  One of our senior execs didn\u2019t exactly appreciate this policy\u2014\u201cYou\u2019re trying to idiot-proof everything!\u201d We quickly responded, \u201cNot exactly. We\u2019re making things idiot-resistant!\u201d He said, \u201cThat could be true, but at this very moment, they\u2019re building a better idiot!\u201d And he was right! The target is always moving. So we added clause after clause to our contracts until they were 37 pages long.<\/p>\n

                  You will make mistakes. Your people will make mistakes. So why not make them write?<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n

                  For more, read on:\u00a0http:\/\/c-suitenetworkadvisors.com\/advisor\/michael-houlihan-and-bonnie-harvey\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

                   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  One of our favorite topics is making mistakes write. Yes, WRITE, like W-R-I-T-E, not just RIGHT. When we started Barefoot Wine, we made so many mistakes that we became experts at it. It then felt natural to create a process for making mistakes. Our company was a success, but it was built on a foundation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":149,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpupg_custom_link":[],"wpupg_custom_link_behaviour":["default"],"wpupg_custom_image":[],"wpupg_custom_image_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,64,179],"tags":[],"editorial_calendar_month":[],"class_list":["post-7477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-growth","category-business-practices","category-employee-engagement"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n8 Necessary Steps to Make Your Mistakes WRITE! - C-Suite Network Advisors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/csuiteold.c-suitenetwork.com\/advisors\/8-necessary-steps-to-make-your-mistakes-write\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"8 Necessary Steps to Make Your Mistakes WRITE! - C-Suite Network Advisors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of our favorite topics is making mistakes write. 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