Have you ever made a HUGE mistake that caused you to freeze in your tracks? One that made you think about a situation thoroughly before making the next move? We all make mistakes. There is no shame in making them. But, how we handle the solutions to these mistakes does reveal our integrity.
Real World Story: My frozen-in-my-tracks moment happened a couple of weeks ago. The day before I was scheduled to appear at two speaking engagements for a client of mine, after weeks of preparation, I reviewed our contract to make sure I would deliver more than what I had promised during negotiations. To my shock and dismay, the contract sent to my client was the first draft, not the final draft. This first draft charged the client 70% LESS than the final draft! Oh, no! I was devastated.
Millions of scenarios ran through my mind. Could I explain my mistake to the customer and ask for more 
money? Should I simply invoice the client for the higher fee and hope for the best? Or should I do the “right” thing and honor the contract and fee? Since the fee was far less than the negotiated price, would it be okay to deliver a less than stellar performance—“give them what they paid for”? Or should I deliver my best and do it with a positive attitude?
Situations similar to my mistake are where one’s integrity comes into play. Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
It’s not the customer’s fault that she was sent the incorrect contract. Inversely, my mistake was an honest one, so why should I punish and “cheat” myself of the higher fee? Customers do not deserve anything but the best. Period. Whether or not the customer even noticed the difference in fee was not the issue for me. The issue was having the integrity to admit to myself the mistake and moving forward with the contract that was delivered. Plus, who would suffer if I delivered less than excellence? Me? The customer? The participants? Yes. Everybody!
Strategies that Turn it Around:
- If you make a mistake, admit it—even if it costs you money in the short term.
- If you accidentally omit or undercut an important detail in a contract, honor the contract as it was submitted. Fix the problem and deliver excellent service throughout the process.
- Learn from your mistake and move forward.
Remember: We are in business because of our customers. It’s not their fault when WE make a mistake. And when we keep our integrity intact, we can move forward with grace, delivering exceptional service.
Have you ever made a huge mistake? How did your organization react to it? I would love to hear your story in the comment section below.