A long time ago, when I was first starting out in my career, I met with an advisor named Marty. Marty knows a ton about business, but it’s his personality that really drew me in. Like me, he has an oddball sense of humor, and can be a bit… um colorful in his dialogue. Anyways, one day I was meeting with Marty and one of my other associates when someone (I can’t remember who) brought up the subject of mistakes. I don’t remember how the question was posed, but I do remember Marty’s response vividly. For the sake of discussion, let’s say it went down like this…

Me: “What is the best way to deal with a mistake?”

Marty: “Easy. Just admit that you’re a $#!%head and move on.”

Me: “What if it’s someone else’s fault?”

Marty: “It doesn’t matter. Let others play the blame game. You’ve got work to do.”

Just like that, my eyes were opened.

I have to say, this advice has really served me well. Many business professionals, when confronted with a mistake, tend to point fingers, or try to justify their decision. All this does is waste time. A true professional is focused on results, and when a mistake has been made there’s no time to sit around and play the blame game. Instead, just own the problem and move on the best way you can. Sometimes, the mistake really is someone else’s fault, and they will try to divert the blame on you. “Fine, whatever. It’s my fault. Now can we work on fixing this.” That’s the attitude I’m talking about. Who care’s who started the fire. It’s up to you to put it out.

Discuss below… or face my wrath!!