![\"Patton](\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2017\/10\/walk-e1508789836497.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cFar too often we let little things slide. But just turn on the news and listen as the anchors lament an auto-part defect leading to deaths and multibillion-dollar recalls or a small leak in a gas pipeline causing an explosion that endangers wildlife. Recognizing when something is wrong, big or small, and holding people accountable can save industries billions and citizens their lives. Sergeant Bowen instilled in me instantly that if you do walk by a mistake, then you just set a new, lower standard.\u201d \u2014General Ann Dunwoody, <\/span>A Higher Standard<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
General Ann Dunwoody was walking down the street when she saw a soldier in uniform walking with his hands in his pockets. Anyone who’s spent time in the military knows that this is a big no-no. Dunwoody could have literally walked by the mistake and not addressed it. It\u2019s something small, it wasn\u2019t impacting anyone at the time, and the kid probably just forgot. It wasn\u2019t anything overtly heinous. As a general, though, she knew that if she didn\u2019t correct the error, she would be, by the sin of omission, setting a new lower standard for that soldier. So rather than letting it slide, she approached him, kindly addressed the problem (rather than yelling at and demeaning the young guy), and reinforced the ideas of discipline and attention to detail. <\/span><\/p>\n
Since then, General Dunwoody has used the phrase \u201cnever walk by a mistake\u201d as one of her guiding principles. I\u2019ve extrapolated that idea to encompass three roles of one\u2019s life: consumer, leader\/parent, and individual. <\/span><\/p>\n
Let\u2019s explore how the mantra plays out in each of these three areas. <\/span><\/p>\n
Consumer<\/h3>\n
Customer service mistakes and flubs have seemed to happen to me a lot lately. A wrong Starbucks order, only discovered when I got home. A medical bill that should have been covered by insurance, but was initially thrust on us because of a clerical error. A cold burger served at a restaurant. <\/span><\/p>\n
Only the mistaken Starbucks order was corrected immediately, and the medical bill is in the process of being rectified (but only because of its high amount; a small bill may very well have been paid without further thought). The burger was unhappily consumed. And that\u2019s usually how it goes. Consumers often choose to just live with a customer service mistake rather than correct it. This happens for two primary reasons: <\/span><\/p>\n
1) In many cases, it requires going out of our way to fix an error. I had to drive back to Starbucks, and my wife had to spend a few hours on the phone to save a few hundred bucks. It\u2019s sometimes just a pain in the rear to correct things. And frankly, I wouldn\u2019t have even cared about the Starbucks order, if not for it being the culmination of a number of similar mistakes at various places around town. On a busy weekend, the last thing I want to do is get back in the car and stand in a long line for my drink to be re-made. <\/span><\/p>\n
2) We shy away from correcting errors because we don\u2019t want to deal with the confrontational aspect of it. In most restaurant settings, when the waiter comes by and asks how your food is, it\u2019s basically automatic that you\u2019ll smile and say some version of \u201cIt\u2019s great!\u201d Even if it\u2019s not all that great. When you tell the truth about your service when it\u2019s been just mediocre, there\u2019s the initial pang of discomfort we all experience in the face of criticism. It\u2019s only human.<\/span><\/p>\n
There are, however, several reasons to overcome these hindrances, and address consumer errors we encounter:<\/span><\/p>\n
First, when we let customer service mishaps go, we\u2019re impacting the quality of the establishment (which could have been improved had we spoken up). As, say, a barista, or at least the coffee shop owner, wouldn\u2019t you rather know that you\u2019ve made an error, even if it\u2019s initially uncomfortable and embarrassing? Better to have one error immediately corrected, than to realize much later that you\u2019ve made hundreds of unicorn sprinkle mochachinos the wrong way (or have a subpar employee on staff), and have possibly driven hundreds of customers away from your coffee shop. So, as the consumer, you\u2019re actually doing companies a favor by speaking up about mistakes and errors. <\/span><\/p>\n
Second, if helping a business out doesn\u2019t feel particularly motivating, know that you\u2019re doing a solid for your fellow man as well, decreasing the chances they\u2019ll waste their hard-earned money on a crappy meal or experience. Mistakes are often repeated, so when we let one go, we not only have to deal with the consequence ourselves, we affect the customers in line behind us who are likely to encounter the same problems until someone with a bit more chutzpah speaks up about it. <\/span><\/p>\n
Third, by refusing to pay for charges you\u2019re not due, or products you didn\u2019t want, you can save yourself some money. An erroneous bill may be rectified or your meal may be comped. Even when he became the wealthiest man in the world, John D. Rockefeller<\/a> still pored over business invoices and bills in his personal life and would take the time to dispute erroneous charges; he never believed in knowingly wasting money, even if you had plenty to spare.<\/span><\/p>\n
But what if correcting the mistake will cost you more time (and time = money) than the original mistake? Should you still drive back to a restaurant after getting home and realizing they forgot to include the dessert in your take-out order? You should, not only for the above reasons, but for one more: the opportunity to practice the ability to stand up for yourself and not accept something that\u2019s lower in value than what you\u2019ve exchanged for it. <\/span><\/p>\n
I\u2019d challenge you, for at least a week, to answer honestly when asked about your food or your customer service experience. Beyond that, do in fact take the time and effort to go out of your way when something has been mistaken with your order or purchase. <\/span><\/p>\n
Now, you may associate addressing consumer errors with anal, entitled jerks who belligerently rant and rave, and you understandably don\u2019t want to be that guy. But there are ways of politely going about making these kinds of corrections. Simply go up to the counter and say, \u201cExcuse me, this mochachino has fairy sprinkles instead of unicorn sprinkles. It\u2019s not a big deal, but could I get the correct order, please?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n
Never walk by a customer service mistake. You\u2019re missing the opportunity to not only help out and improve the business in question, as well as your fellow customers\u2019 experience, but you\u2019re also missing the opportunity to build your own confidence and assertiveness. <\/span><\/p>\n
Leader<\/h3>\n
As any kind of leader \u2014 parent, manager, even friend \u2014 walking by mistakes makes your life, and the lives under your care, more difficult later on. Addressing mistakes that other people have made is really hard, especially when we have some sort of relationship with them (as opposed to when it\u2019s as a consumer, where we are a little more separated). That relationship is also what makes doing so much more valuable, though. <\/span><\/p>\n
This sentiment is especially true of small mistakes. Large mistakes \u2014 reports not sent, blown sales, blatant customer service screw-ups \u2014 are easy to address, and generally known by the person who made the mistake. Smaller mistakes though are sometimes not even on a person\u2019s radar. A small accounting error, an important formatting problem repeatedly made in a report, a forgotten guideline about appropriate dress or conduct (as in General Dunwoody\u2019s example at the start of the article). It\u2019s easy to walk by these small errors because they\u2019re just that. We think, \u201cWhat\u2019s the problem with letting a small error slip by? It\u2019s not <\/span>really<\/span><\/i> affecting anything, especially in this particular instance.\u201d We don\u2019t want to seem anal in bringing something up, and we don\u2019t want the person who made the error to feel bad. So, we\u2019re apt to ignore small lapses and blunders. <\/span><\/p>\n
But in avoiding some headaches, we create others.<\/span><\/p>\n
The first problem with ignoring small mistakes is that they tend to repeat themselves, and often snowball into bigger ones.<\/span><\/p>\n
Maybe you know a married friend has been texting an old flame. So far their banter has only been light and friendly, but he\u2019s keeping it a secret from his wife, and it could easily turn into cheating. Isn\u2019t it better you said something to your friend, before it heads down that road? Research shows that people don\u2019t commit grievous moral lapses all at once; rather, they take small steps \u2014 each of which is rationalized in turn \u2014 until they\u2019ve gotten themselves in too deep<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n
Second, if a problem isn\u2019t addressed, the person can also come to assume that it\u2019s not actually a mistake at all. Or perhaps the person you\u2019re leading is aware that something is a mistake, or at least not entirely correct, but since you\u2019ve not addressed it, they\u2019ll think it\u2019s some unreasonable or bureaucratic guideline that can be readily and regularly ignored. <\/span><\/p>\n
As a manager, you might be okay with letting a certain mistake slide, but a future employer of your subordinate won\u2019t be; you thus do a disservice to the employee by not helping them correct the error while under your mentorship.<\/span><\/p>\n
A final problem with letting a mistake slip by unaddressed is that even if the error itself isn\u2019t big, not addressing it weakens the person\u2019s overall ethic of discipline and reliability.<\/span><\/p>\n