Don’t Let Puking Dogs Lie

It was a fantastic Easter feast. We had ham, baked ziti, my mother in law’s delicious spinach bread, and tons of chocolate. As we were packing everything up, we had some ham bones left over, and we put them aside for the dogs.

My husband and I vividly remembered the last time a neighbor had given our Cesar a ham bone; we were awakened in the middle of the night with him throwing up all over our bed. So we discussed whether or not we should give him another one. We decided that we could, but that we would control how LONG he had the bone so there would be no way he could get sick again.

Then the Bocce games began…and we totally let him have the bone until it was gone.

Once again, we were awakened by a puking dog in our bed. And I said to myself, “How many times do I have to learn this lesson before I change my behavior and decision making?” I swore to myself I would never make that mistake again. I’ll have to let you know if the lessons sticks.

So here’s my question…

When it comes to mistakes or missteps in your work life, how many of them make a second (or third, or fourth) appearance?

Here are my observations based on my own experience.

1. The answer can depend on how serious the mistake was.

Very early in my sales career, I was involved in a huge project for a showroom at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago that was participating in a big show. I was way out of my depth and had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t ask for help.

The projects’ costs far exceeded my original estimate, and I said NOTHING to my clients. It wasn’t until they got the bill, and were so outraged that they called the president of my company (who then reprimanded me, but in a kind way), that I realized how important communication is, even if the news is going to be received poorly.