Learning from Mistakes

The other day I got asked about mistakes I’ve made professionally and what I’ve learned from them. And to be perfectly honest, I kind of froze. My mind suddenly went on a massive “find all” scan only to come up with vague recollections of moments when the blood drained from my body with the certain knowledge that my life as I knew it was over. Because of the situation, I came up with an answer but the question continued to haunt me – both because I think it was a question I should know and because I couldn’t understand why I didn’t.

As with most things you’re trying to remember, a specific example came to me within ten minutes of leaving the conversation. And with some small amount of relief, it was something from very early in my career. Specifically, within the first year-plus of starting work, my bosses all got laid off and I was left to act as Production Manager for my agency. Now, I have to give credit because my boss had very generously been training me on the basics of print production, which in retrospect may have also been my downfall. Without going into great detail, I was scared of missing a deadline so I pushed an ad that wouldn’t print well. Fortunately for me, my now ex-boss had become my outside printer and he caught my error before it went to print. On the reprint of the never-released ad he wrote a message I quote here by heart, “there’s never enough time to do it right, there’s always enough time to do it over.” He was right and I learned some valuable lessons which include: when over your head – ask for help; and when you think you don’t have time, take five minutes to collect yourself and re-approach the problem … you might have more options than you think.

So I was feeling a bit better; I wasn’t in complete denial. But the question still remained, why hadn’t I remembered this or any of the other times it had happened in the past? Not to be political, but I was flashing on when G. W. Bush was asked what if any mistakes he had made and he couldn’t answer. I did not want to be that person that so lacked introspection or accountability that they wouldn’t admit fault and learn from mistakes.

Then it occurred to me. The reason I wasn’t remembering the error was that I’d learned from it and moved on. The lessons learned had become so much a part of who I am and how I work that I’d forgotten how I came to know them. Instead of being upset that I couldn’t remember, I was happy that my brain chose to focus on the positive rather than being dragged down by the negative. Which isn’t to say that I should forget the experience or the feeling; they act as a powerful incentive to never make that mistake (or any other) again. However, a certain amount of mental denial isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

It’s an old saying that we should learn from our mistakes and that’s absolutely true. However, we need to also remember to apply the lessons and move beyond the fear lest we lose the nerve to act. It applies to the individual and, as someone who has managed, it’s a good thing to remember when it comes to managees who mess up. Making mistakes doesn’t mean we’re bad, it just means we’re human. It’s if we have the capacity to learn and apply the lessons that is the ultimate test and opportunity. And for me, coming to recognize that is yet another valuable lesson learned.