Messing Up (everybody does it!)

So this is how I woke up this morning … OH NO!!! I forgot my Focus blog post!

I was so “focused” on other things yesterday that I totally forgot all about it.

I know that most of you probably didn’t even notice, and some of you were happy not to have another email to fill up your “in” box, but still, I made a commitment to you and to myself that I would create “focus” blog post twice a week this year, and I messed up. So again, I’m sorry about that.

But, that does lead me to an unexpected focus this week… what did you leave undone this week? What is it that you told someone you would do, or look into, or follow up on but you simply didn’t have time or just let it get pushed to the back when more “important” things came up? Was there a client or family member you should have called back or even sent a quick email to? Is someone waiting for you to get back to them on a job application, or an evaluation, or a consultation or just some direction from you? Is your company or an outside client waiting for a response from you about an invoice question, or outstanding balance? Should you have simply written a thank you note to someone, or given out some appreciation and acknowledgement for a job well done? 

Our jobs, our lives, are so busy, and I absolutely appreciate that about each and every one of you! And, with that busy-ness naturally comes the fact that we are human, and unless we are incredibly organized (which I feel pretty comfortable saying that most of us are not), we are bound to miss something once in a while. Admitting that we are fallible is just as much a part of being a leader as anything else, and it’s how we deal with those times we mess up (or just forget something) that makes the difference.

Here’s my tips for when we “mess up”:

• First, say “I’m sorry" to whoever it was that was expecting something from you. Regardless of the reason, just say “I’m sorry,” no excuses. I actually had 3 or 4 pretty good excuses, or even reasons, for forgetting about my Focus blog last week , but in reality, my reasons don’t matter at all. The fact is, I did not do something I said I would. People don’t like excuses, they appreciate apologies and the acknowledgement that you didn’t do what was intended.
  
• Second, correct your mistake. If there was something you left undone last week, shoot the person an email today and let them know, even if you can’t correct it today. For example, if a client is waiting for a copy of a bill, let them know that you are so sorry, but you left yesterday without printing it for them, that you realize it’s important to them and you will send it first thing Monday morning. At least that way they don’t spend the whole weekend thinking that you just forgot about it.
  

Take action: I’m taking action by posting my focus blog post a week late, even though I could have sent you a quick email saying I would just send one next week, or just leave it undone. In the bill example above, your action would be that no matter what, you send that bill out first thing Monday morning, and then follow up with another email telling them it has been sent. People will appreciate your honestly about messing up once, but they won’t appreciate it if you don’t follow through and have to apologize over and over again!

Correct the Cause: My cause last was that I was so focused on other things (even though work related), that I did not even think about the fact that I needed to write my blog, post it and send out an email to all of you. For me, I have taken to using my Outlook calendar for everything, so this morning, I added "focus blog" to my outlook calendar every 3-4 days. I don’t know if this will totally prevent this from happening again, but I do know that I check my calendar every morning and typically throughout the day, so it’s likely to be a good way to start. For some of you, you might make lists and cross them off as things get done — if that’s the case, maybe a good habit to get in would be to check your list about an hour before you plan to leave work for the day, just to be sure there isn’t anything on there that you have forgotten to complete.

You’ll come up with a system that works for you, but the most important thing is to
figure out what does work best, and then put it into daily practice!