I once got kicked out of a client’s office.
Has that ever happened to you?
Hopefully not.
Here’s how it happened and here’s what I learned. An employee of mine was frustrated because our client decided to switch to a different vendor.
My employee asked me to request a meeting with the client so he could ask the client to explain his decision.
The truth is, I should have put a stop to it right then and there. My (former) client would have been happy to take a phone call, but to ask for a face-to-face meeting was above the call of duty.
Especially when you consider that my employee (a guy named Mark H.) was an *sshole.
But the client agreed to the meeting (only after saying, and I quote), “I’d rather poke a fork in my eye, but whatever. Let’s get this over with.”
We had the meeting. And my employee (Mark H.) started to get frustrated and raise his voice.
Again, I should have put a stop to it right then and there. But I didn’t. My mistake.
As things heated up, it turned into a yelling match between Mark H. and my former client.
When things had reached their peak, my former client stood up, pointed to the door, and yelled, “Get the hell out of my office. NOW!”
We left with our tails between our legs.
It was a big mistake on my part to have allowed the meeting to take place.
I had a Mercurial employee (Mark H.) and a former client who was a reasonably nice guy. But, out of a sense of loyalty, I took my employee’s side.
My lesson was this — doing what’s right should always, always, always take precedence over loyalty.
I had convinced myself that being loyal was more important than doing what I knew was right. And that was a mistake.
They say you learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes. That event was a perfect example of that principle — I learned a lesson from my mistake that I’ll never forget.
What was a big mistake you wish you could take back? Let me know by adding your comment below.
Comments
I’ve had similar things happen, but I’ve never been kicked out of an office. Wow!
Where do I start? I imagine it is the same for many of us. They say we don’t learn things until we are ready to learn them. Many of us don’t learn our lesson the first time around, maybe even the second. There have been several times when I did not.
I have made hiring decisions that soon afterward I knew I should immediately return that fish to the pond. I didn’t. Why? After taking some time to stare at my navel and ponder, I came to the awareness that I did not want to prove myself wrong. I was the boss. There was no one to whom I had to admit my mistake. Only myself. I didn’t want to. Why? Ego. It’s tough to set it aside. That cost me dearly. Trust yourself. Don’t be afraid to admit your mistake, immediately. Take the necessary action. Even if no one is looking. I believe I’ve learned that lesson.
Davis Tucker
Thanks for all the great comments. It looks as though I’m not alone in this one. 😉