As the week winds down, we wind down with some tidbits for your information, education, health, and enjoyment.
Quote of the Week: “God don’t make no mistakes. That’s how He got to be God.” Archie Bunker
Humor Break: Sometimes errors occur on resumes. Here are three of my favorites:
“Here are my qualifications for you to overlook.”
“The company made me a scapegoat – just like my three previous employers.”
“Work Experience: Dealing with customers’ conflicts that arouse.”
Stat of the Week: 500,000 Errors. In its September 24 issue Sports Illustrated (SI) reports in its Scorecard section that an unfortunate chap named Jose Reyes committed error number 500,000 in major league baseball history. Errors are rather common in that particular sport. In unusual candor SI states that in all probability the accounting system recording all these errors was in error. Thus in all likelihood Jose did not commit this monumental error – he will just receive blame for it. Kind of like work.
I have a neighbor, Jim. We all tend to avoid Jim. If we do happen across him, we all know better than to ask him “How’s it going?â€Â For Jim, nothing is ever “going goodâ€. The trees are dripping on his car. His health insurance doesn’t cover him properly and short changes him whenever “they†can. Most amusing to the casual listener is Jim ranting about his house. He has it for sale. But according to him property values have dropped and he can’t get what it is worth. Then he turns around and tells us what a “piece of crap†his house is. Everything is shoddy. AC doesn’t work, never has. Jim never stops to consider why no one would pay top dollar for a “piece of crap†house.
Do you know Jim? Maybe you work with him/her. Always complaining. Nothing is ever right. It is always someone else’s fault.
Errors are a part of life – at work, in relationships, raising children, etc., etc., etc.. It is not whether we make them or not – we will – but how we respond. Are we going to “own†our errors and move on … or are we going to pull a “Jim†and try to pass the blame to others.
Action Tip: Errors happen! If you make one, get over it. Take responsibility, own it, and get back to doing what you are good at. If someone points out your errors, thank them. Either they will appreciate the thanks or be so taken aback that they likely won’t approach you again when the next error happens. And it will happen. Errors happen in life just like in baseball.
The Self-Development Corner: I am continuing my crusade to urge you to go back to college the free and easy way: Online! We have readers from around the world, so today let me introduce you to some of the participating universities from countries other than the US. Check out the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, or the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, or the The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, or the University of British Columbia, or the University of Edinburgh, or the University of London International Programmes, or the University of Melbourne, or the University of Toronto. And more on the way!
Volunteer: Tomorrow is Make A Difference Day 2012 in the USA. If you are only going to volunteer one day a year, make it tomorrow … and don’t give some excuse why tomorrow isn’t going to work for you. Get online and donate to your favorite charity. Go to the beach or the park with a trash bag; walk around picking up trash. Get your exercise at the same time. Me, I am volunteering at a dog adoption site. So let’s all get out there and make a difference!!!
Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.
