How to Survive a Major Mistake
I got the data wrong, but it’s not the end of the world
With the end of 2022 also came the official end of a contract that has done many things for me over the past 5 years or so since I started it. As part of my final tasks, I’m doing some updating of older pieces — making sure that statistics and links are up to date and that type of thing. It was while doing this that I discovered that in one of my original documents, I’d made a major mistake.
Like, major, MAJOR mistake.
So this was a bit of a sucker punch.
I hadn’t read the data properly, so I’d made a mistake in numbers that was far beyond a simple transcription error. I’d made the primary data — the core part of what I was writing approximately 5 times bigger than it should have been.
My heart dropped when I realized what I’d done.
This was a relatively important document, a foundational piece that the organization used regularly and linked to all the time. This wasn’t a number out of place, this was a massive error that way overstated the data upon which the entire piece was based.
And it was wrong.
Uncredentialed Writing
I take pride in my work.
I go to great lengths to make sure that anything I send out into the world — whether here or elsewhere — is something that I am proud to attach my name to. After all at the end of the day, my name is my biggest asset — or my greatest liability.
I also work very hard to make sure that anything that I put out reflects a level of insight and research to which my audience will respond. I’m not always writing for a general audience — many times my work is used as the basis for some pretty important decisions. This means that I need to understand and write for my audience.
It’s a point of pride for me that I can write for just about anyone — especially when you consider that I’m someone without a university degree.
No letters after my name, no fancy titles…I’m just Matt.
But you’d never know that from my writing, and that’s something I’m proud of. I go to great lengths to research, analyze, and then write clearly based on the research and analysis I’ve done.
So this was a bit of a sucker punch.
Two Roads
There’s two options when you find a major mistake like this.
- Correct it and hope nobody else notices.
- Call yourself out and trust that your overall body of work will speak for itself.
If you choose the first, then you have to hope that nobody looked too deeply at the data in the first place. You also have to hope that nobody notices that the numbers changed in a very significant way. Finally, you have to believe that even if they did notice that they wouldn’t care.
If you choose the second, then you have to trust that your work is good enough overall to survive a major error. This takes courage and the support of a good team to keep you from making the same mistake twice.
The first option is one of cowardice and insecurity.
The second option is one of integrity and honesty.
I think it goes without saying that I chose the second option. I immediately emailed my boss and told them what I’d found. I even went so far as to say that the mistake was big enough that we should pull the existing article until it had been updated.
The mistake had already been made, and hiding it wasn’t going to make it any better. I had to face it head-on and acknowledge that it was my mistake.
I could have definitely chosen the first. My contract was up in a few days and I wasn’t going to renew it even if they offered it to me. I could have made the changes and then just left without any explanation of why the numbers were so different.
But that’s not me. And that’s not the way to survive a major mistake.
The only way to survive it is to face it head-on and accept the consequences.
Thankfully I had a great team who fully understood and supported me despite the error on my part. I hope that if you’re ever faced with a major mistake that you have one too.
If you’re a leader, then I hope that you build a team where a person isn’t judged on their weakest moment, but on their strengths as a whole.
Everybody makes mistakes — even you.
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