Most of time we hear someone saying "Oh My God...! I made a mistake...!!!" Known or Unknown reasons may create circumstances of mistake... You are a great driver, but yet there is possibility that accident may happen due to unforseen circumstances.
In the software industry or any professional environment, there is lots of potential for precise outcome, awareness of business losses which may occur due to silly mistake etc. But have you ever heard someone saying that
I am going to make a mistake... NO... Mistakes happens due to our internal conflicts or external reasons.
I learned from my father that every mistake has eraser. Believe me it has been my greatest learning.
I remember in my earlier organisation when I took charge of a big team I told my team that, "Every mistake has eraser, so never be afraid if something wrong happens... I trust you... come to me and we will discuss how to take corrective actions... and not repeat it again... Never ignore any minor mistake..."
On my last day in that organisation, one of my team mate told me "Shekhar, do you remember when I was new in your team and we were going to handle 24 X 7 production support for our client... after training etc... you told us every mistake has eraser... It is the line which helped me lot to overcome all my fears during work... and I worked so nicely on even critical tasks..." I was surprised that he remembered and implemented it in his daily life too!
According to my learning in professional world, I guess below are 5 things to do once any mistake happens!
1. Acknowledge the Mistake :
Never ever try to run away from mistake keeping it as it is. Always say to yourself and concerned team mates that this mistake has happened!
Don't be in fear that what will happen if you acknowledge your mistake. Remember mistake can grow so rapidly and become disasters later... See it, understand it, learn from it...! Never feel less or over confident 😉
2. Check the Process which caused the Mistake :
Always in your mind, just run through the process to rethink what was the sequence of events which caused this mistake.
Come to point where this mistake has happened.
3. Plan & the Execute Corrective Actions :
Always think on how do you correct the mistake. You can even take help from your seniors or team,
check history of similar issues etc. Plan properly, and then execute the corrective actions.
4. Change the Process :
If you found any particular process needs to be changed to avoid similar mistakes, start proceeding in that way.
It might be lack of training in particular area, lack of knowledge and practice or similar. Just improve it.
5. Awareness is key :
First thing is never do any task in mechanical way. You must be aware what your are doing... While we are working in professional environment,
we always do share our mistakes and knowledge with team. It helps other to be aware of scenarios where mistake can happen.
You can comment on my learning and add on more ways to improve my understandings as well.
GrassDew has four main business streams – Consulting Services, Software Solutions, Security Services and Knowledge Services. Our primary focus is on various software development and maintenance services.
To know more about our services, email us at shekhar.pawar@grassdew.com