By Jim Poggi
Why admitting mistakes fast, asking better questions and knowing your limits are essential skills for every consultant.
This month I plan to take us down a dark road that most of us are uncomfortable experiencing or talking about. I plan to explore what happens when consulting goes “oops.”
As consultants to our customers and trusted members of our communities, we are often called upon to provide guidance on CLIA, reimbursement, test mix selection, legislation affecting the laboratory business, and many other areas.
For the most part, we take our time, consider the situation, the source and how much information is needed, then come up with a thoughtful answer that fits the need. To be thorough, we often seek confirmation from our trusted manufacturing partners.
We need to be mindful to provide the right amount and balance of information. Is it accurate? Does it fully answer the question? Is it explained so the person asking the question can understand it? Does it need and have supporting data? Is it actionable?
Why actionable? This may be the most important element. Most people do not ask us questions out of boredom. They ask because they need information to take action. Therefore, we also need to understand that when consulting goes “oops,” the person asking the question may take inappropriate action.
Admitting a mistake
This leads to my first rule of admitting we have screwed up: admit the mistake as soon as possible. While painful, this can eliminate or minimize more painful downstream consequences. If you are lucky, the person who asked for help did not take action yet.
If they have already taken action, there may still be time to minimize or blunt the damage of inaccurate advice by quickly helping the person who asked for information to retract it if possible. “Upon further reflection” and “after consulting other sources” are usually acceptable ways to honestly admit an error without falling on your sword more than necessary.
If possible, offer to help the questioner correct the error. They may ask you to discuss it with their staff, the person who asked them for advice, etc. There are a lot of permutations, but your offer to directly address the issue should be helpful in most situations.
Know thyself
Now let’s step back and remember something we have heard many times before: “an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.”
How do we apply that advice here? By knowing ourselves. When are we most likely to offer off-hand information without thinking or doing the right amount of research? I know my weaknesses. There are two times I am likely to fall into this trap. First, when I am on a roll and at my most confident, I sometimes confuse myself with some omniscient being. Offering bad advice at that time has had the effect of helping me to become more appropriately humble. Like it or not, overconfidence should be self-correcting. It is in my case.
The second scenario where I sometimes make unforced errors is when I am tired, distracted or not at the top of my game. For me, fortunately at these times I am more likely to respond “let me get back to you.”
The message here is not necessarily to share more about when I am liable to screw up, but to offer you the opportunity for self-reflection so you can honestly ask yourself when you are likely to make the same sorts of errors. Knowing when you should pause and offer a little time before you answer the question saves a lot of heartache and a lot of apologies. For every active consultant, it is a secret weapon we should use daily.
An “oops” example
Now that most of us can admit we are not infallible and that people who ask us for consultation deserve the best possible solution, let’s play out an “oops” in this column, where we can actually do no harm to ourselves or others.
In this scenario, we are asked for the best variety of tests a new lab should have. Without reflecting or asking questions for clarity (because we need to screw up here), we offer a variety of waived respiratory and basic metabolic tests. We know these meet most new or small lab needs and serve as building blocks to future testing.
What we did not know and failed to ask was that this is a urology practice, and the practice manager is new and does not yet know enough to realize our error. Clearly, our advice does not suit a urology practice.
Once we learn the type of practice, we will realize we have offered inappropriate advice. Now comes the opportunity to fix the problem before it gets out of hand rather than delay and make the situation worse. Speed is your friend here. As soon as you realize your error, immediately contact the person who asked you the question and admit: “I did not ask the right questions about the medical practice you manage to provide you with the proper advice. Can we set up some time to sit down together and for me to learn from you more about the medical practice you manage?”
If you are very lucky, they have not already shared your first thoughts with the clinical team. If they have shared this information, it is likely they were told the information is wrong and been embarrassed. In that latter case, while an apology to the questioner is mandatory, offer to share your apology with the clinical team.
In my experience, when this sort of bad information gets back to the clinical team, they have already written you off (at least temporarily) as a source of useful information. Relationship building typically needs to start back at ground zero. In this case, take a step back and ask the practice manager for a new introductory meeting to start over. If possible, contact as many of the clinical team members you can, admit the error, apologize and offer a new, proper list of tests.
Yes, you are in a deep hole, but remember that errors are unavoidable and your job is to recover from this one as quickly as possible. If the bad information has not gotten to the clinical team, set up the meeting with your practice manager and offer one of your trusted lab manufacturers as support.
In either case, you should have observed a few things:
- Avoid offering information without asking the right questions
- Be reflective of answers you may have already given (search your memory to make sure you have given proper advice),
- Correct errors immediately
- Offer apologies to any folks who may have been impacted by your advice.
How to reset after a mistake
OK, so now our fictitious “oops” example is over. Whew. If you are like me, you may have remembered a similar situation and have cringed a bit. We have discussed how to get the person who asked the question back in good order, but what about ourselves? We have given bad advice, needed to apologize to one or more customers, provided new advice (if possible) and have put a customer at risk.
Most of us need to take care of ourselves a bit to regain our equilibrium. How do we do so? I will offer a few tips that work for me. First, if you have a good coach, give them a call. Let them know what happened and how you tried to rectify the situation. Ask for their advice on any further steps you need to take. Consider any actions you may have missed. They are your coach for a reason.
At this point, the best coaches will know you are feeling a little down and will offer suggestions about how to get back in good order. If they don’t, ask them for ways to get out of your funk. Just having that discussion usually makes me feel better, and my coach usually offers some quality discussion topics to distract me and get my mind off of the mess up.
Spending quality time with our family, friends and colleagues is also a time proven way to cheer up. We all know we feel energized after a sales meeting. Catch up with some of your favorite fellow account managers and feel their energy. It’s sure to help.
Forgive yourself. It may sound self-evident, but it is not. Obsessing over a screw up is not a useful way to spend your time and does nothing for your overall sense of well-being. Take the lesson you have learned, incorporate it into your daily life and move on.
Another way I get my good spirits back is to engage in activities I enjoy and know I am good at. Writing this column is always a day brightener. So is researching new lab technology or taking a break to read the latest lab journals. Each of these activities helps me to get my positive energy back. Your list may be different, but be sure to engage in activities you enjoy.
Finally, allow a little time to create distance from your “oops.” It’s funny how time creates a sense of perspective. Don’t obsess over your mistake and, when the time is right, re-engage with the person who asked for your advice and let them know you are prepared to set things right and move on if they are.
Sometimes a thoughtful note (not an email) helps to set the tone for rebuilding your relationship. Maybe you can ask a mutual contact to step in and smooth the path. We are all creative or we would be in a different business.
There are a number of ways of putting positive energy back into a damaged relationship. Add your thoughts to those I have offered and you will build back as many as possible. Just like “no” is the pathway to “yes” once you learn how to respond to a “no” from a customer, “oops” is a way to make us stronger. No one ever plans to make a mistake, but when you do, learn from it and carry on.
“Oops” may feel bad for a while, but if we carry the lesson forward, we will become better at our consulting activities and better friends and family members. Here’s hoping it is a rare experience for you, but that you extract all the value you can from each “oops” in your life.