I've interviewed over 180 people over the past 18 months for my podcast series, asking them all the SAME question:
“What's your favorite mistake?”
Everybody makes mistakes, even the most successful people out there.
A “favorite mistake,” to me, is one that leads to some sort of professional growth — it's a mistake that ends up opening a new door, or it's a mistake that we learn and grow from. Maybe it's a small mistake that, once discovered and discussed honestly, that prevents what could have been a larger mistake.
I haven't been 100% diligent, but I've been keeping a log of small mistakes that I make. Not to beat myself up, but to remember that mistakes happen all the time — some are funny, some might be meaningful.
Just today, I almost bought birthday cards for my mother-in-law (instead of Mother's Day) because I just bought a card for my brother-in-law's 50th birthday. I decided to buy them anyway, because they're funny and I can scratch out “birthday.”
I am scheduling an interview for a Digital Marketing Specialist for Value Capture LLC. First, I forgot to make the final click that would have added a candidate to the invite. Good thing I noticed I had also made the mistake of scheduling it Tuesday instead of Monday. When I emailed to apologize, she said she hadn't gotten an invite. Oops. Then, when I added her, I had a time-zone brain cramp and I put it on the wrong hour on Monday… so I changed it.
There were other mistakes, slip-ups, and errors. I wonder what mistakes I didn't catch??
Oh, and I caught a mistake from the other day (thankfully now, not later). I meant to book a return flight from a client for 5/19, but I actually had booked it for 5/20…
I think it's healthy to admit mistakes, reflect on them, and then move on. Forget about it… or make changes that prevent us from making the same mistake.
Maybe you'll want to post a comment sharing a mistake you made today.
Or you can listen to the “favorite mistake” stories of my guests here.
You can also join the discussion on LinkedIn:
What do you think? Please scroll down (or click) to post a comment. Or please share the post with your thoughts on LinkedIn – and follow me or connect with me there.
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Check out my latest book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation:
