Best strategies for recovering from a major business mistake

I borrow the words of Jazz great Miles Davis, “When you hit a wrong note, it’s the next note that makes it good or bad.”

I heard of a vice-president who spent half of her company’s advertising budget on a big mistake. She bought a massive billboard in Silicon Valley along the congested 101 freeway but never got it approved by her CEO. The CEO saw it as he was driving to work one day and went nuts. The billboard was torn down the next day.

The truth is, sometimes when you are moving fast, endeavouring to make a trail, you make mistakes. However, it is what happens after that matters most.

A few days ago, whilst at work I received a telephone call from my teenage daughter. She was bawling hysterically.

Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! I called her by name twice. What happened? Calm down! What happened? Eventually, almost inaudibly, she said “how could they do this to me? Ungraded for Literature in English… The young lady was beside herself and I felt helpless.

I am no expert in the education system, but it is apparent that something went terribly wrong with the 2020 Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination results. Several countries throughout the Caribbean received results that made no sense and as a consequence, the experience have left some children traumatized.

Was a big mistake made in the CAPE preliminary results? Some may argue that preliminary means something that comes before something else, but it also means early. Therefore, people are accountable to ensure that the preliminary results are a reflection of the final results. How will CXC recover from this mistake? Will the authorities come up with a plan to limit the damage and push forward?

Today we begin looking at best strategies for recovering from a major business mistake:

l Do everything you can to fix it if possible.

Many mistakes are fixable. Think of all the options you have to try to fix your mistake. Ask yourself if you have done everything you could to mitigate the damage? If you have, stop kicking yourself, instead, accept it and adjust your business or life according to the new circumstance. If you haven’t done all you can possibly do to fix it, pick yourself up and get to work.

Until next week… Visit us at www.searchlight. vc or https://www. facebook.com/Searchlight1. We’ll help you get noticed.