Thursday, January 27, 2011
Own Your Mistakes
A dear friend of mine, 15 years ago said; "never say your sorry to anyone," and to this day he doesn't. He does not have much to apologize for, because of his conscientious approach to all he says and does. None-the-less, there are times when he has done or said something that needs to be apologized for. Instead of a heartfelt apology, he does a verbal, political tap dance that leaves you wondering if he apologized or not. I find it an odd behavior to not own your mistakes and sincerely apologize for actions or words that may have been hurtful. To that point, Jason Fried, from 37signals wrote this in his latest Inc. Magazine column: “People don’t judge you on the basis of your mistakes — they judge you on the manner in which you own up to them. In my experience, most companies do a terrible job of taking blame. They lob press releases. Or they apologize for the inconvenience. Resist that temptation and say you’re sorry like you’re apologizing to a friend. Be good — and your customers will be good right back to you.” See the rest of the story by following the link below. http://www.inc.com/magazine/20110201/how-to-turn-disaster-into-gold.html
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So true. Something I think about frequently lately. Even in personal relationships, this doesn't happen often enough. Just think of how much more comfortable everyone is when you just apologize even for something small--an offhand comment, a tone of voice. Calling my mom right now, ha! ;-)
ReplyDeleteAndrea,
ReplyDeleteExactly. I think it is an extension of the lifestyle you, me, and many of our friends are after. That is: be present in the relationships we choose to be in. Try not to be too busy to not notice how your words or actions are affecting others. Lastly, there is an interesting life to be had by all of us; we just have to remember that it does not have to have to happen at a thousand miles and hour. Sometimes it happens in complete stillness.
Happy New Year!
Ray