Over the years, I’ve found that it’s easier to point out the mistakes of others than it is to avoid making my own.
I was at a recent networking event and a colleague handed out a homemade flyer about an upcoming event he was hosting. Really nice guy. Seems to be great at what he does.
The flyer had nine typos. Nine.
Chances are good that I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
By showing a lack of attention to detail in his own work, how can he expect his prospects to be confident that he won’t do the same for them?
In full disclosure, I’m guilty of more than my share of typos. Oh boy, have I made some big ones! When print was still king, errors became very costly.
In the case of my colleague, he would have been better-served by someone providing a second set of eyes on his promo piece.
We can’t do it all ourselves
Nobody is an expert at everything. Nobody. The last time I met someone who knew everything was never. We all find ourselves forced out of our comfort zones. It’s important to have colleagues who can help us make smart decisions and get the job done right. These advisers and doers can be some of our greatest assets. And vice-versa.
If certain marketing disciplines just aren’t your thing, that’s okay. Tap into the expertise of those to help you avoid the pitfalls of looking unprofessional. Colleagues who help you when you’re in a bind will eventually need you to return the favor. We’re all in this together. So, work out a trade agreement or informal understanding. “You scratch my back …”
A road to recovery
What if you do blunder? How do you recover? Well, the first thing you do is own it. If it’s serious, try to diffuse the problem and offer ways to fix it. If it’s relatively minor, find some self-deprecating humor in it, correct it and move on. You’ll find people are more forgiving when you demonstrate some humility. We are all imperfect beings in an imperfect world.
Remember, there are reasons, but usually not excuses for preventable errors. For example, we recently sent a mailing with a typo in the subject line. How embarrassing! The reason it happened was due to a last-minute change. But, that was no excuse for not triple-checking it or sending a test mailing to an associate to review it. We were lucky. It was a harmless error. We then followed up the next day with the same mailing, but with a mea culpa and relevant link. That follow-up mailing had more responses than the original one. WHEW!
Don’t sweat over it
There’s no room for haste. Take your time. Ensure that things are the best they can be. Build relationships with trusted colleagues for their expertise and objectivity. When you slip up — and you surely will — don’t sweat too much over it. Take responsibility for it, fix it and move on.
We all make mistakes. How we deal with them is what matters, too.
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