🎒 TREE 202: Mistakes for the win

Making a mistake can be scary. Fear of making mistakes often keeps us from starting.

But what if you were to view mistakes as an opportunity to do even better?

What if a mistake created an opportunity to go so over-the-top to repair the error that you've had a net result of better progress than originally planned?

An example:

Late last year I was running 4 months late delivering backpacks to a customer in Germany due to Covid. I felt horribly, though it was out of my control.

At last the bags were ready, but by that point Brexit had occurred. I sent the bags, and a short time later the customer wrote saying they had had to pay an eye-watering amount in unexpected customs fees.

My gut dropped. I managed to write to them sincerely, and refunded their fees.

They didn't write back, so I thought I'd lost a customer. But a month later a personalised gift basket arrived for me, thanking me for my bags and my solution.

Now, I don't propose mistakes as a business or life plan, but knowing there's nearly always a way out is a great way to avoid debilitating fear.

This week’s guest author is Lyndsay Lucero, founder of baxleygoods.com.

Jeff: Lyndsay prefers total silence when she’s working, so this week I’m choosing songs about quiet:

If you don’t like to work in silence, try The Memory of TREE playlist – every song from every email: