Meg{Moir}

Do you have one? I do. Its about 3 pages long, and growing.

I have kept a mental book list since I got out of college and found time to read things other than text books, but over the last few months I started keeping a physical list. No more staring slack-jawed at the rows and rows of stacks in the library for me.

In 2006 I banned myself from reading fiction. Not because I think that fiction is bad, but because I was reading crap like The Davinci Code and Kay Scarpetta novels. I was choosing to read what was quick and easy (and let’s be honest, compeletely engrossing) over what was hard and would actually make me think.

The past three years have taught me so much that I would never have learned by reading pop fiction. I love diving into a weighty book about business, history, politics, religion. Once, I was reading the biography of Thomas Jefferson on an airplane, and a man actually leaned over the aisle and said, “I hope you aren’t reading that for fun.” I was, and his comment filled me with pure joy. Weird, I know. We all get our kicks, I just happen to get mine from looking like a huge nerd.

I feel that I am almost ready to jump back into the world of fiction. To read a real story, to anticipate a plot turn, to emmerse myself in a world that is not real, except in my minds’ eye. I have a few ideas on where to start. Atlas Shrugged, The Catcher in the Rye and Siddharta are all books that have been on that mental list for a while, but never made it out of the library. But I need help. Water for Elephants? Great Expectations? One Hundred Years of Solitude? Where to start?

Where to start?

I’m annoyed. As I was driving home yesterday evening, a dump truck cut me off 3 times. Considering that I only live about 8 miles from work, this was quite a feat.

As dangerous as that was, that actually isn’t what I’m really annoyed about. What gets me is this: plastered across the backside of said dump truck in letters at least one foot tall was this message

NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WINDSHIELDS

I’m no lawyer, but I don’t understand how this generic non-mea culpa could ever hold up if something did fall out of the back of the dump truck and crack a windshield, due to say, reckless driving? How can a company get away with this absolute dismissal of fault? Even the former gods of Wall Street are being forced to admit to playing a role in the downfall of the global economy after trying for months to claim their highly-levered securitized products didn’t cause the financial market meltdown.

While you can’t make others admit to their mistakes, you can make sure that you take responsibility for your own. As someone who screws up frequently, I have developed a response set for taking responsibility, making it right, and trying to prevent it from reoccurring.

Step 1: Realize and Admit Mistake
This part is all cerebral and helps to get the expletives out of your system. Of course, it only works when you realize it for yourself, not when someone calls you on it. So don’t be lazy, check over all your work. Preferably before you send it out.

Step 2: Ask yourself, “How can I fix this?
Look, mistakes happen. Maybe you were trying to multi-task, maybe there was a time crunch, maybe you didn’t have all the necessary information. See if you can fix the problem yourself first before bringing in back up. If you haven’t shared your work with anyone else yet, then no one else has to know about it. Fix and move on. But if you have, be as proactive as possible. My boss would much rather see this e-mail

“Dude (cause he’s cool like that), I inserted the wrong chart on page 7 of the prospect presentation. I have attached a corrected slide for your copy, and the updated file is on the Public drive.”

than this one

“um, something doesn’t look write about the charts in the presentation. can you give it a look?”

Step 3: If you can’t fix it alone, seek out the person who can help
First, be humble. You messed up and you can’t fix it. You need someone to help you. Don’t blow that by acting like a jerk, because then you have messed up twice. Explain what you did and what you think you should have done. Explain what steps you have taken so far to fix it and ask what they think needs to be done. Now, you need to let this person help you. Listen to their solution and follow it to a tee. Thank them profusely now and again when the issue is resolved.

Step 4: Whatever you do, do not repeat.
Now you are older and wiser and have learned from your transgression, right? Let’s hope so. Do what ever is in your power not to repeat the same mistake. However, realize that some mistakes are systemic and not so easily rendered obsolete. Here is where you can shine. Brainstorm to come up with a way to avoid this problem, hopefully while saving your company money, time or a combination of the two.

When I first started my job it took me the better part of a day, and sometimes two days, to complete a prospect presentation. I was unfamiliar with the process, sure, but the bigger problem was that there was no set way to create the presentation. It took a while, but after a few months of determining exactly what we wanted to show during a pitch, I was able to create a template in Excel that prevented my team from re-creating the wheel each time. This significantly cut down on simple things such as formatting errors, but also on time spent doing data entry as cells were already linked and formulas in place.

When mistakes happen, it is easy to jump up and declare “Not my fault!” but is it right? Of course not. So buck up and take responsibility for yourself. Fix your mistakes, or at least help others fix them for you. It doesn’t matter if you are making copies for a meeting, driving a dump truck, or engineering the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression. Everyone makes mistakes, it’s human nature. Fight your flight instinct and admit your mistake. It will put you a step ahead of the rest.