Professional development

At the end of the day…own your mistakes

Although sometimes human frailty makes us feel we cannot make mistakes, people will think more highly of you when you own your mistakes and work to fix them. 

Despite the best of intentions, we all make mistakes. Mistakes make us human. I always am surprised by people or companies that do not own their mistakes, much less attempt to fix them.

Recently, my husband and I had some yard work done. The company made a few mistakes; it was an expensive service, so we let them know about our concerns. The office responded quickly with their concern over the mistakes and fixed them the next day. Great service and relationships aren’t just about getting it right the first time; they’re about how you handle things when you don’t get them right. I will hire this company again because they owned and fixed their mistakes.

Your personal reputation is as much about what we do well as it is about how we handle situations when things go wrong. Colleagues, friends, Moms, Dads, and siblings all need to be willing to own their mistakes. When we make a mistake does our integrity stay in check? Do we attempt to blame others or take responsibility for our short comings? Do we strive to correct the mistake?

Although sometimes human frailty makes us feel we cannot make mistakes, people will think more highly of you when you own your mistakes and work to fix them.

At the End of the Day… is an expression meaning an assessment of essential facts and truths. It’s a summation of the pros and cons of any situation and a straightforward statement of what really matters. It’s also the title of this blog series by Brenda Hodge, Nuance Healthcare’s Chief Marketing Officer, with insights about leadership, empathetic customer relationships, and marketing techniques.

Brenda Hodge

About Brenda Hodge

Brenda leads all aspects of Nuance's marketing function working to develop the go-to-market approach, building the Nuance brand to drive growth, and expanding client relationships to increase loyalty. She joined Nuance from Optum where she most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer for the Provider Market segment. Brenda’s career spans multinational sales and marketing leadership roles at companies such as GloStream, Allscripts/Misys Healthcare Systems, and SAS Institute.