Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on Seattle 2.0, and imported to GeekWire as part of our acquisition of Seattle 2.0 and its archival content. For more background, see this post.
By Alyssa Royse
If I know anything about the Seattle Tech Startup Scene,it’s that all eyes were glued to the Ms. Universe Pageant the other night! No?Well then, let me tell you the important parts. Those in the know had theirmoney on the voluptuous Venus Raj to take the tiara. Even at the time of thefinal question, those obsessed twits in a snit tweeting on Twitter were sureshe was a shoe-in. Then the question came. She was asked to name the biggestmistake of her life, and explain how she fixed the fub. She said, “I am not acrook, and I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”
Not really. But when she said, “in my 22 years of existence,I can say there’s nothing major,” she was channeling Nixon and Clinton andchoked on their collective credibility. And she lost the tiara.
Look, we’ve all made mistakes. At 22, most of them probablyinvolved beer and boys and boobs in varying arrangements. Mistakes are made bypeople. Lies about those mistakes, those are made by liars. Most people candeal with people making mistakes, but liars telling lies? Less tolerant.
It is ALWAYS best to admit that you made a mistake. (And thesooner, the better.)
1. Mistakes Grow In The Dark
Even the smallest mistake can leave a big wake. A singlemisplaced period can wreck a line of code on which many people will continue tobuild, change the price of a product from $260 to $26, or change the meaning ofa tagline. If caught and dealt with early, it may be small. Late and you mayhave wasted many man-hours and sold your entire inventory at less than cost.
2. Solutions Grow in Groups
Depending on the mistake, the solution may be a groupeffort. It is in your best interest to figure out the ramifications, who itwill impact and rally the troops. By taking the responsibility to fix the problem,and working well with all involved, you may recast yourself from “dude whomessed up,” to “the man who thought on his feet, acted with integrity andmitigated the damage.” But you won’t be able to do it alone, so ask for help,carry your load and share the credit. More help probably means a quicker solution, and that’s good. Not to mention that if you mess up other people’s days and don’t take responsibility for it, you’re gonna piss off a lot of people.
3. Teams Need Trust
Whether you meant to or not, you created a team-buildingopportunity. In addition to the obvious benefit of just working well together,these kinds of situations also show the team members who can be trusted. Thatis the kind of thing that matters when you have heavy deadlines, creativeroad-blocks or any other challenge in the future. Distrust creates anxiety,which is definitely not productive.
4.Creativity Needs Safety
As touchy-feely as this sounds, any shrink will tell youthat it is not possible for a person to reach their creative potential whenthey feel unsafe. (As true in love as it is in business.) By honestlynavigating a mistake, you create an environment in which other people know thatthey don’t have to be perfect. Without encouraging sloppiness, it’s importantfor people to learn that honest human mistakes are not the end of the world,and that there is a team of people who like and trust each other enough toinnovate together. That’s good stuff.
5. You Are Your Brand
Most importantly, do you want to be known as a liar and acheat, or as someone who is honest and hard working – even if not perfect? Asyou are presented with other opportunities in your future, the ability todiscuss your mistakes and what you learned from them is what gives you thewisdom of experience. Nothing stays hidden, people talk, most of us live withour mistakes – one way or another – for the rest of our lives. Make that easierby also living with integrity and knowledge. It will come back, how it bitesyou is up to you.
So, with that, I ask you, what were your biggest mistakes,and how did you – or are you going to – fix them? I don’t have a tiara for you,but think about it and you just may give yourself a good night’s sleep and acreative future.
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Alyssa Royse does not have a tiara, but she has a closet full of great wigs and well-behaved skeletons. Many of which she writes about on her personal blog. Mistakes are only mistakes if you don’t learn from them. Otherwise, shit happens, and some of it’s fun, even if it should never happen again.
