Just like the way I listen to the news, I review television shows on occasion. The idea is that if you look at different ideas, perspectives and topics, you become a more educated person.
I was watching a food show recently where a chef was talking about some of her creations. As she was showing viewers how to make a recipe she said,
“ Some of my best dishes came from mistakes I made.”
We learn early in life to follow recipes. In grade school, we learn the basics. Then in high school we also follow the rules. When in college you are taught to think more critically.
Then we’re thrown into the business world, where many times we are told how to do things and avoid mistakes. With most organizations, mistakes are frowned upon.
There are two types of organizations, though. One is based on saying that mistakes are bad. The other is that mistakes are learning experiences.
Sometimes we make mistakes that turned into real money-makers or answers for some complex problems.
For that reason, we should always applaud mistakes. It’s not that we want to repeat them, but how about analyzing them to see if we learned anything from them, such as developing new products, services or systems.
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR TEAM
- When is the last time you make a mistake?
- What was your mistake?
- Did you figure out a way not to repeat it?
- What did you learn from your mistake?
- Did it create something good that you WILL repeat?