How I Learned to Make Mistakes

It was my first job after graduating college. I had packed my clothes and loaded a few pieces of used furniture into a borrowed truck and moved to the big city. Just like Marlo Thomas in “That Girl,” I was full of big dreams and big ideas.

I showed up to for my first day at my first real job wearing a pressed green skirt, a floral print blouse and sensible navy blue pumps. My new boss, Mr. Dick Barckman, met me at the door and led me to his office (I promise you , that was his REAL name.)

Dick was a retired army sergeant. I sat down and looked around. He didn’t have any pictures on the wall. He eyed me with a solemn expression from behind an oversized oak desk. Two pencils were lined up precisely in a wooden tray. A black stapler sat beside it. There were no papers, photos or knick knacks cluttering the surfaces. His office was efficient, stark and clean. So was Dick.

I soon learned that Dick was a perfectionist with a crusty attitude. His subscribed to the “my way or the highway” philosophy. He had no patience for error.

That’s why it was so hard for me to walk into Dick’s office, just a few months after I started, to tell him I had screwed up. I'd forgotten to enter information into the computer and a customer’s invoice wasn’t sent. Now the customer was receiving delinquent account notices. And it was my fault.

“You did WHAT!” Dick bellowed.

I tried to explain that I didn’t understand the procedures for invoicing. It was a rookie mistake. But I wouldn’t do it again.

That didn’t sit well with Dick.

“Great, now our customer is pissed off and I’ll have to fix it. Just get me the file.” He said as he dismissed me.

When I left his office, I felt small and dejected. Less than a year passed before I left the company to seek greener pastures.

A few years later I was in a different office with a different boss. Once again, I was wriggling in my chair as I prepared to explain to my boss that I had made a mistake.

“Um.....Bob, I blew a deadline. I didn’t get our notice sent out in time and now the statutory time has passed.”

I had been a real attorney for about two years and felt like I knew the ropes. I knew how to keep track of deadlines. I knew how important that was. But somehow the paperwork had been misfiled. I missed the date.

I hung my head low. I could feel my heart racing as I braced for Bob’s wrath.

“What did you learn?” Bob said.

I jerked my head up. Bob wasn’t angry. He was smiling at me. I gave him a puzzled look. “Uh, don’t blow a deadline?”

“You can do better than that.” He said. “What did you learn?”

I sat quietly in my chair and reflected.

"Well, I use a file system, and some papers got mixed up. Maybe if I had asked my secretary to note the date on her calendar she could have reminded me. It would have helped me avoid this.”

“Redundancy.” Bob said. “That’s a good idea.”

“What about the blown date?” I asked. I dreaded the call to the client to explain it. Surely he wouldn’t be as patient as Bob.

“Set up a conference call with me, you and the client. You can explain the situation and I’ll help smooth things over.”

I was still shaken. “I’m really sorry I let you down.” I mumbled.

“Don't be so hard on yourself. The world isn't coming to an end. You’re going to be an attorney for a long time. Twenty years. Maybe more. I can promise you, this won’t be the last mistake of your career. And there’s a good chance it won’t be your biggest. The issue isn’t whether you make a mistake. The issue is how you respond and what you learn.”

I worked for Bob for two more years before being offered a promotion that took me out of state. That was fourteen years ago. But I’ll never forget how Bob's measured response, such a stark contrast to Dick’s anger, led me to be a better employee and a better person.

Mistakes happen. They are a part of life.

I make mistakes. You make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes.

What did you learn?

I learned that it doesn’t help to beat myself up for making a mistake. I learned that it’s unreasonable to expect perfection. I learned that it’s OK to make a mistake. And I learned to learn from my mistakes.