In the spirit of all the list posts floating around looking forward to 2010 and back at the previous decade, I’ve decided to make a different sort of list. This is a list of mistakes. A list of things I’ve learned from in the past and am reminded of constantly as I run into others making the same blunders.
Context: My experience is in entertainment and last-mile logistics.
1. I failed to verbally acknowledge stressful moments
There’s a line between exchanges that boost morale and encouraging inappropriate personal disclosure. In my case, I failed to share enough and it cost me many valuable learning and morale-boosting moments. Why? Because I’m a pro at smiling when I don’t feel like it. I can have a rotten day and choose to grin through it. I can hide my pain when I have a job to do. Most people struggle with that and such a struggle can lead to rotten service and unhappy customers if left unchecked. I was working so hard to lead by example that I forgot to tune others in to what I was doing. That was a mistake.
2. I maintained pet peeves
Sometimes a piece of gum isn’t worth fighting over.
3. I neglected consistent contributors
It’s easy to spend a lot of time on a few “problem” employees and end up fostering resentment in the stellar contributors who show up on time and give 100% every day. Mitigating factors aside, I failed to sufficiently recognize those who made a difference on a daily basis. That was a mistake.
4. I overlooked individual goals in pursuit of business targets
People fulfill the requirements of their job descriptions in order to get a paycheck. They do remarkable work for other reasons. Looking back, I can think of times when I failed to connect an individual’s goals with those of the organization we worked for in a way that left us both feeling like a win could be had. That was a mistake.
5. I failed to show the people working for me that I cared about them as individuals
As the middle of 11 children, you’d think I might know a thing or two about falling through the cracks of an organization. Growing up, my father scheduled one-on-one time with each kid as a way to make sure nobody felt left outside the huddle. While I in no way view myself as a father figure, there have been times when I would have done well to take a page from my dad’s play book and scheduled more short meetings to check in with employees. 70 people is not so many that any should have felt like I didn’t know who they were as valuable individuals. That has happened, though, and it was a mistake.
6. I failed to take proper care of myself
Happy people do great work. I can look back and identify times when I should have taken time off, exercised regularly, eat better, pursued outside interests and generally set a better example for those working for me. Fewer mistakes in my personal life would have translated into a stronger and more attentive presence in my work life. I didn’t take great care of myself and ended up missing out on some cool moments and great opportunities because of it.
7. I spent more time optimizing machines for pennies than I did investing in people for dollars
The inclination to micromanage is never far behind an increase in power. Micromanaging leads to a laundry list of idiocy that fuels a cycle of unhappiness and results that seem to come only through blood and tears. Loyalty and enthusiasm aren’t easily tracked on a spreadsheet so increasing morale is often the last thing on a list of ways to improve profits. That’s a big mistake. I’m one of the people who has made it before and I fear that the temptation to do so again will always be there.
I’m sure there are others that I may be reminded of shortly but these seven are the first that came to mind in writing this post. Why would I write something like this? Why would I admit to having made mistakes? I don’t see much value in pretending to be perfect. My mistakes aren’t remarkable. My only chance at progress is found in learning from my stumbles and finding ways to avoid new blunders in the future.
What mistakes do you look forward to avoiding in the years ahead?
It seems that we don’t use names the way we once did. There was a time when using another’s first name implied a certain level of relationship. We’d talk about George Clooney and refer to him as “George Clooney” and not “George.”
In the words of a 1st century new media evangelist,
Truth isn’t all about joy and beauty. It has an unsavory side that often conjures images of loneliness, perspiration, and pain. Here’s a bit of the latter:
Are you participating in social media with the same joy as when you first realized that people in Japan would comment on what type of breakfast cereal you prefer? From recent observations, my guess would be that you’ve lost your original spark.
I took a quick survey on the train ride home this past Wednesday. Of the 53 people in my car, 39 had at least one college degree, 1 had an iPhone, and 0 knew who Robert Scoble was.