Episode #13: Dealing With Your Own Mistakes

The dealing with mistakes culture in Japan is definitely in the tough love category. This makes innovation and engendering creativity difficult here because, the penalties for failure far outweigh the rewards for success.

Before we get into this week’s topic, here is what caught my attention lately.

Japan’s exports as at October are up 14% on last year. Japan is doing well with exports of vehicles, electronics, and machinery. China replaced the US as Japan’s largest export market in October as exports were up 26%. Imports from China also increased 14%. President Trump won’t be happy that Japan’s trade surplus with the US is up 11%., mainly driven by chemicals and machinery. Import from the US were up but only by 3.1% mainly for fish, soybeans, coal, liquid petroleum gas and iron ore. Nissan has said it is planning to build a new factory in the US, to keep up with the local demand. Their existing plants in Tenessee and Mississippi are “maxed out” according to Jose Munoz, Chairman of Nissan North America. Nissan’s sales in the US have increased by 70% over the last 6 years.

This is episode number 13 and we are talking about Dealing With Your Own Mistakes.

Soredewa ikimasho, so let's get going.

We want people to fail! That’s right, because we all know that we are the product today of all of our accumulated failures. We have learnt what works and does not work by trying something, failing and then adjusting the way we do things.

American Basketball Coach John Wooden once said, "Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be." The obvious point he was trying to convey is that everyone makes mistakes and fails. It is what you do after the mistake or failure that makes all the difference.

This attitude to mistakes is particularly relevant here in Japan. Errors are viewed very dimly in Japan. In fact, the fear of making an error is so strong, that people are very cautious about anything new or unfamiliar, as the mistake incidence is likely to be higher.

If you grow up in Japan, you will have had this idea drummed into your head from an early age. I encountered this when I was working with a visiting Japanese film crew, doing a shoot for a magazine image, as part of a product launch.

We were down on the beach in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast and the second camera assistant accidently dropped a completed film canister in the sand, as he was changing film rolls. Without a moment’s hesitation the shortish director reached up and gave this 190cm, 100 kilo young guy a most tremendous whack across the head, followed by a severe tongue lashing for his error.

The dealing with mistakes culture in Japan is definitely in the tough love category. This makes innovation and engendering creativity difficult here because, the penalties for failure far outweigh the rewards for success. As leaders we need to set the scene that mistakes happen because the creative process is messy and involves a lot of trial and error. The team are watching like a hawk about how mistakes are treated and take their cues from there.

Lee Iacocca is famous for how he treated a multi million dollar failure, by one of his marketing executives at Chrysler. It was no small change and the executive in question presumed he was being called to the boss’s office to be given his marching orders. Upon entering the office he said, “I suppose you are going to fire me”. Iacocca said. “Fire you! We just spent millions educating you”.

Is that how you see you own mistakes – part of your education or do you beat yourself up? Here are 5 ways to shake off your mistakes and move forward to success.

Brush it off

No one is perfect. Once in a while everyone makes mistakes, it’s going to happen. Don’t spend time worrying about it, cooperate with the inevitable and focus on what you are doing. This is how we learn, so see a mistake as a stage in your education.

In high tech environments the mantra is “fail faster”, because they know how important it is to try new things when seeking breakthroughs.

Analysing the reason for the mistake, it is often because we are dealing with permanent overload and are always rushing. We don’t take the time to check because were are too wrapped up in production mode. Count mistakes as a cost of business and try to move ahead and reduce that cost factor.

Don’t fuss about trifles

Forget the small stuff. Perfecting something pointless or of low value makes no sense and adds little to the organisation’s efforts. If you can mentally stop obsessing about the smaller mistakes, you’ll be more focused and catch the larger ones before they happen.

Accuracy is a key thing, in some areas, so we need to flick the switch to know when we are entering a key area. When we get there we need to slow down and go for perfection for a few minutes in the day. We don’t have to be like this the whole day and beat ourselves up if we aren’t.

Don’t worry about the past

Shake off your mistakes and move on. Don’t live in yesterday (or tomorrow for that matter). Forget about what happened, no matter how silly or embarrassing. By letting go of the past it will help you focus on your current task. “Mistakes are building blocks for enlightenment” – think of them that way, get on the front foot and start pushing forward. Everyone is so tied up in themselves, they soon forget about you and refocus on themselves again. We might have provided some inadvertent mild relief but it doesn’t dwell in their minds. Like bad news in the media, the next day the newspaper is embracing the fish bones, vegetable peels and other garbage. The world has moved on and so should we.

Profit from your mistakes

So you’ve made a mistake, now figure out why you made the mistake, make a note and move on. Making even a mental note will help remind you to be more careful next time the situation comes up.

Ironically, some of the greatest breakthroughs in science and technology have come from mistakes rather than intention. In brainstorming sessions, the ridiculous ideas spark the genius ideas. You might not have gotten one without the other. See your own mistakes as sparks and catalysts to a better future.

Rest before you get tired

Many times silly mistakes are made simply because you are tired. Tiredness combined with making too much haste makes for a nasty combination. When we are tired, errors will pop up like weeds after rain. Make sure that you get enough sleep and sometimes it is better to tell yourself “go slower!” or “time for a break”.

Understand your best work rhythm. Winston Churchill did his best writing in the early hours of the morning after midnight, propped up with cigars and whisky. Others are at their most creative in the early part of the day up until lunchtime. If you know that about yourself, hive off that Golden Time and devote it to the creative work you need to be doing.

Our errors may occur with greater frequency because we are asking our natural biorhythms to work at cross-purposes to the task required. We should always seek the best alignment between our talents, our energy and the nature of the task to be completed.

Continuing with the world of basketball, Michael Jordan provides a great final quote about failing: “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed”.

Mistakes are rarely “game over” in business. Remember, this is a marathon not a sprint. We need consistency, reliability and stamina. Reacting to mistakes is a more critical skill than eliminating them. You will never eliminate them all, so defining what comes next is more important.

So key points to dealing with our mistakes:

1. Brush it off
2. Don’t fuss about trifles
3. Don’t worry about the past
4. Profit from your mistakes
5. Rest before you get tired