How to Celebrate Even the Biggest Mistakes!

How to Celebrate Even the Biggest Mistakes! Big Mistakes in Big Companies In a famous 2010 tale, Zappos’ CEO Tony Hsieh chose not to fire an employee who had made a $1.6 million mistake. In another story, a CEO actually thanked the IT guy who caused the company’s site to go down (causing a loss of thousands of dollars per hour) for uncovering a systematic weakness that needed to be fixed. See Top 5 Reasons to Celebrate Mistakes at Work. My Blog Mistake I did not know these anecdotes until I sat down to write this blog about mistakes. Last week, as many of you are aware, I wrote a draft of my blog and sent it to my assistant with a request that she come up with an appropriate title for the article. She offered six suggestions, with her top pick being â€Å"3 Trends Effecting LinkedIn That You Need to Know.† I wrote back the following: I chose #3 [3 Ways LinkedIn Times are a Changin’] and updated the title on WordPress. Note it would be Affecting not Effecting!! The next thing I knew, the blog had gone out to my e-list with the original subject line, the word â€Å"Effecting† intact. Oops. The emails rolled in: I noticed a spelling mistake in your subject title. It should read 3 Trends Affecting LinkedIn†¦. I see this error a lot, but thought you might want to make a note of it. It should be 3 trends AFFECTING Did you use effecting rather than affecting on purpose? Living â€Å"Above the Line† My first response was â€Å"This is bad.† I mean, here I was, a writer and editor, making an error that I’ve actually blogged about in the past! See Top 7 Grammatical and Spelling Errors of 2012. But as I aim to do in my life, I looked at where the opportunity was in the face of this breakdown. I’ve taken plenty of personal growth courses where we are coached to say things like â€Å"Yay! I made a mistake!† So how could I, dare I say, celebrate this initially embarrassing mistake in my blog title? I issued a correction as soon as possible, thanking my readers for their eagle eyes and explaining what had happened. I did my best to convey an understanding that mistakes happen, and that I probably need another round of editorial proofing before sending out my blog. One message from a reader confirmed I had done the right thing: Love the graceful save you did on this you got it goin on, as they say, girl. Always a fan. When I can ever get a moment I want to work with you to update my LI profile! In the grand scheme of things, this was a small mistake. While I feared I might lose clients over it, since people count on me to know English grammar and spelling, I hope my correction set the record straight. No one was injured or taken advantage of as a result of this mistake. Celebrating Mistakes! Mistakes are the way we learn most in life. Looking back, I can see that my mistake last week was a testament to my ability to trust another person to do work for me! It would not have happened if I had not expanded my business to the point where I need an assistant. The mistake also showed me that many of my readers care and are paying attention. And I was given the opportunity to â€Å"play above the line,† issuing a correction that was gracious and non-blaming. I got to show my commitment to quality, and that I was unwilling to let something like this error go unaddressed! I recently spoke with someone who told me about a $250K mistake she once made at work. When she went to her boss expecting to be fired, she had another thing coming. He appreciated her honesty and let the monetary loss roll off his back. As he said, he could always make another $250K, but he would not be able to get her back. That’s how I feel about what happened with my assistant. I wouldn’t let this one mistake color my undying appreciation of what she does for me and how responsible she is when she does make a mistake! In fact, in the midst of writing this blog, I took a break to apologize to her for my initial â€Å"This is bad† response. I have a lot to learn about celebrating my own mistakes and the mistakes of the people around me. And I’d love to hear what you have learned in your life! How have you celebrated mistakes? How could you or someone around you have done better in their response to a mistake? I look forward to hearing what you have to share!

Battle of Eutaw Springs in the American Revolution

Battle of Eutaw Springs in the American Revolution The Battle of Eutaw Springs was fought September 8, 1781, during the American Revolution (1775-1783). Armies Commanders Americans Major General Nathanael Greene2,200 men British Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Stewart2,000 men Background Having won a bloody victory over American forces at the Battle of Guilford Court House on March 1781, Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis elected to turn east for Wilmington, NC as his army was short on supplies. Assessing the strategic situation, Cornwallis later decided to march north into Virginia as he believed the Carolinas could only be pacified after subjugating the more northern colony. Pursuing Cornwallis part of the way to Wilmington, Major General Nathanael Greene turned south on April 8 and moved back into South Carolina. Cornwallis was willing to let the American army go as he believed that Lord Francis Rawdons forces in South Carolina and Georgia were sufficient to contain Greene. Though Rawdon possessed around 8,000 men, they were scattered in small garrisons throughout the two colonies. Advancing into South Carolina, Greene sought to eliminate these posts and reassert American control over the backcountry. Working in conjunction with independent commanders such as Brigadier Generals Francis Marion and Thomas Sumter, American troops began capturing several minor garrisons. Though beaten by Rawdon at Hobkirks Hill on April 25, Green continued his operations. Moving to attack the British base at Ninety-Six, he laid siege on May 22. In early June, Greene learned that Rawdon was approaching from Charleston with reinforcements. After an assault on Ninety-Six failed, he was compelled to abandon the siege. The Armies Meet Though Greene had been forced to retreat, Rawdon elected to abandon Ninety-Six as part of a general withdrawal from the backcountry. As the summer progressed, both sides wilted in the regions hot weather. Suffering from ill-health, Rawdon departed in July and turned command over to Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Stewart. Captured at sea, Rawdon was an unwilling witness during the Battle of the Chesapeake in September. In the wake of the failure at Ninety-Six, Greene moved his men to the cooler High Hills of Santee where he remained for six weeks. Advancing from Charleston with around 2,000 men, Stewart established a camp at Eutaw Springs approximately fifty miles northwest of the city. Resuming operations on August 22, Greene moved to Camden before turning south and advancing on Eutaw Springs. Short on food, Stewart had begun sending out foraging parties from his camp. Around 8:00 AM on September 8, one of these parties, led by Captain John Coffin, encountered an American scouting force overseen by Major John Armstrong. Retreating, Armstrong led Coffins men into an ambush where Lieutenant Colonel Light-Horse Harry Lees men captured around forty of the British troops. Advancing, the Americans also captured a large number of Stewarts foragers. As Greenes army approached Stewarts position, the British commander, now alerted to the threat, began forming his men to the west of the camp. A Back and Forth Fight Deploying his forces, Greene used a formation similar to his earlier battles. Placing his North and South Carolina militia in the front line, he supported them with Brigadier General Jethro Sumners North Carolina Continentals. Sumners command was further reinforced by Continental units from Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. The infantry was supplemented by units of cavalry and dragoons led by Lee and Lieutenant Colonels William Washington and Wade Hampton. As Greenes 2,200 men approached, Stewart directed his men to advance and attack. Standing their ground, the militia fought well and exchanged several volleys with the British regulars before yielding under a bayonet charge. As the militia began to retreat, Greene ordered Sumners men forward. Halting the British advance, they too began to waver as Stewarts men charged forward. Committing his veteran Maryland and Virginia Continentals, Greene stopped the British and soon began counterattacking. Driving the British back, the Americans were on the verge of victory when they reached the British camp. Entering the area, they elected to stop and pillage the British tents rather than continue the pursuit. As the fighting was raging, Major John Marjoribanks succeeded in turning back an American cavalry attack on the British right and captured Washington. With Greenes men preoccupied with looting, Marjoribanks shifted his men to a brick mansion just beyond the British camp. From the protection of this structure, they opened fire on the distracted Americans. Though Greenes men organized an assault on the house, they failed to carry it. Rallying his troops around the structure, Stewart counterattacked. With his forces disorganized, Greene was compelled to organize a rearguard and fall back. Retreating in good order, the Americans withdrew a short distance to the west. Remaining in the area, Greene intended to renew the fighting the next day, but wet weather prevented this. As a result, he elected to depart the vicinity. Though he held the field, Stewart believed his position was too exposed and began withdrawing to Charleston with American forces harassing his rear. Aftermath In the fighting at Eutaw Springs, Greene suffered 138 killed, 375 wounded, and 41 missing. British losses numbered 85 killed, 351 wounded, and 257 captured/missing. When members of the captured foraging party are added, the number of British captured totals around 500. Though he had won a tactical victory, Stewarts decision to withdraw to the safety of Charleston proved a strategic victory for Greene. The last major battle in the South, the aftermath of Eutaw Springs saw the British focus on maintaining enclaves on the coast while effectively surrendering the interior to American forces. While skirmishing continued, the focus of major operations shifted to Virginia where Franco-American forces won the key Battle of Yorktown the following month.