This article is a follow-up to my earlier commentary about small scale business experiments entitled “What can startups learn from MythBusters”. Since I am a happily married man, soon to celebrate another wedding anniversary, I am comfortable with being wrong. And according to my highly-educated wife, being wrong often is something I do well.
What is my point? One of the things I have learned early in my career (and marriage) is that acknowledging your mistakes and working to not repeat them is what helps one move forward and evolve. In my professional life I have seen some spectacular failures. Some of the most memorable ones were committed by business professionals who apparently were never taught that there is nothing wrong with making mistakes, but it is absolutely malicious to not admit your faults and attempt to cover up your mistakes.
In the startup world, unrecognized and/or unacknowledged mistakes tend to create much more damage, than in a larger organization. Professor Rosabeth M. Kanter in her article “Three Little Words Every Leader Needs to Learn” said: “If a leader cannot admit being wrong in a timely fashion, he or she can never correct mistakes, change direction, and restore success.”
So how do we fix things? First, most of us need to put our fragile egos aside, and put a lid on control mania. Second, we need to not only acknowledge and embrace our mistakes, but also build teams around us with people smarter than ourselves. If you have people around you who are empowered to question your decisions, propose better solutions, and draw on their past experiences, you are much less likely to stumble.
If you have a team not afraid to jump in and catch you, you are much more likely to take the risks needed to drive your business forward. It is like walking the tightrope. If you know you have a net below you, your likelihood of getting to the other side is much higher.
Hi, my name is Apolinaras Sinkevicius, but most call me Apollo. I am the guy who takes care of the day-to-day business and technology of rapidly growing companies. 12 years in managing the "nuts and bolts" of companies and being a steward of corporate cultures makes me a seasoned operations professional and right hand person to founders and CEOs.
Very important stuff… Organizations need to establish open and constructive communications so they can collaborate on moving forward from their mistakes.
Executives should look at their company policies and ask the question, does this *system* allow us to build from our mistakes, or does it make employees avoid exposing or talking about failures whenever possible?
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