Sometimes we're human

I was talking to my sister this evening while driving home from my work (I was in my 5-speed sanctuary) and I was lamenting what a sucky week this has been so far at work.

I returned to work, yesterday...my 44th birthday...and discovered a serious mistake that my 43 year old self made at work before the holiday. The mistake cost considerable time on the part of a couple dozen people and involved another company. In some cases, our customers received some shocking information about some of their purchases.

Everything will be fixed this weekend and we'll mop up the debris next week. This was not one of my shining moments. My mistake tore a huge chunk out of the carcass of my credibility. It was a heckuva birthday. For 24 hours, even my self-confidence was shaken. But, you know what I've done since then?

Everything I was doing before. I just made a mistake. I fumbled the snap, threw a wild pitch, missed the open shot. The important thing though, is that I was trying to make something happen.

Risk aversion is not part of my work ethic. Certainly, I try to identify and minimize risk, but I will not refuse to act because the outcome is uncertain, or the plan isn't perfect, or I don't have all the facts.

What is my role at work? I'm an innovator, a designer, a strategist, a process breaker, a solutions provider, a culture changer, and a mistake maker. That last one goes with the territory.

And I wouldn't want any other type of work.