Making MISTAKES

Become a connoisseur of your own mistakes as they can become the best teachers.

        The only person who never makes mistakes is the person who never makes anything.

        The freedom to make mistakes provides a good environment for creativity.

Five of the best tips to help you learn from your mistakes

* Learning never stops

        Life is short so you should never stop learning. Learn from your successes and mistakes and be a life-long learner.

        Real learning won’t stop if you are interested in discovering new ideas.

* Own your mistakes

        Superior people use mistakes for enrichment and learning.

 If you reflect on your mistakes you will be informed and enriched by them. 

* Reflect and analyse your mistakes

        Admit your mistakes because others will respect and admire you for your honesty.

        If you must cry over spilt milk try to condense it – keep it short.

        The greatest mistake you can make is to continually fear to make mistakes.

* Most generations need to make the same mistakes

        People are not keen to learn from their elders, but it’s usually cheaper to learn from others than to make mistakes yourself.

* Hard facts stop speculation

        The best way to stop speculation of an event in the media is to admit a mistake. Your honesty will disarm most angry critics.

Geoffrey Moss (mossassociates.co.nz)

“Inferior managers blame others for mistakes. Superior managers use mistakes for enrichment and learning.”

Source: “Secrets for New Managers” published by  Moss Associates Ltd, New Zealand and by Cengage Learning Asia, Singapore. Also available as an e-book from Cengage Learning Asia, Amazon.com. and the VitalSource Bookshelf