When Sorry Isn't Enough

Raise your hand if you have never made a mistake.

I didn't think so.

I have interviewed probably a hundred people in the last few years and one of the questions we always ask is what you do when you learn that you fucked up (we don't say it quite like that). When I first came on board I know I was asked the same thing; I can't remember what I said three years later.

Sometimes we do stupid things. Sometimes they are intentional, sometimes they aren't. Sometimes it's a simple thing and you lose your keys and it's just annoying more than anything else.
But sometimes our mistakes hurt people. Intended or not, it doesn't really matter. There are consequences to everything we do.

So what do you do?

Understand that sometimes some hurts are big and they take a while to heal from.
Remember that it's not your timeline that matters.
Take responsibility.
Don't get defensive. (this is a hard one, right?)
Be willing to do what it takes to make it better.
Engage in self reflection: try and understand not just the what and the how, but the why. And be willing to change.

No one is perfect. We are all flawed human beings, every single one of us. Life is a process of growing and changing and sometimes we have to move backward to move forward. I think one of the character traits I admire the most in other people is the ability, and willingness, to change how you see things, including yourself.

xx, Randie