Bloopers & Second Chances

"Give and it will be given to you; a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap.

For with the measure you use it, it will be measured back to you." -Luke 6:38

Bloopers: Sometimes the consequences of bloopers (blunders, oversight, forgotten, errors) can be difficult, embarrassing, or costly. What do you do when someone within the scope of your supervision really goofs up?

One of the most notorious bloopers involved a junior executive decades ago. Corporate lore has it that when Tom Watson, Sr. was running IBM back in the 1960's, a young executive made a $10 million dollar mistake in a venture for which he was responsible.

Given the gravity of his error coupled with the infamous and legendary temper of the CEO, the young executive assumed he was being terminated when he was called into Watson’s office. "Are you going to fire me?” he asked. Watson's quick and surprising reply to the younger man was, "No!" Then he added, "I just spent $10 million educating you. Why fire you now? I just wanted to make sure you learned the right lesson!”

Second chances. We've all had them and we all need them.

In the workplace mistakes are going to be made. Sometimes in spite of one's best efforts, something will be botched, lost, done wrongly, or maybe not done at all. The question is: How do you respond to situations like this?

As the head coach or starting quarterback, what do you say to the guy who fumbles the ball? Some coaches respond by walking over to the guilty party, taking off their hat in disgust, and verbally pummeling the individual. Other coaches, however, walk over to the guy whose head is hanging low and say something inspiring about "next time" or encourage him to "shake it off." What do you do?

Today’s Workplace Challenge: Extend a second chance to someone.

"Do unto others as you would have them do to you."
Help an employee who has fumbled the ball. As a company coach, restore confidence to the team member who is struggling.
Surprise the company and pull a "Tom Watson."
Seize the moment of error and make it a moment of education.
Take the time to differentiate between willful wrongdoing and an honest mistake.
Lastly, shower the individual with a good measure of grace, applying it liberally until it is running over and spilling onto others.

WB “The Other 6 Days” Journal