Runs, Hits and Errors

I was at a baseball game the other night when I started thinking about the errors I've made in my business. I know - I should have been watching the game, but something on the scoreboard caught my eye. The column right next to "Runs" and "Hits" is labeled "Errors". This isn't particularly new to me, but in the context of my business it shed a whole new light on the subject of mistakes.

When I voiced my concern for the feelings of the poor player who got branded with the error, Kevin explained that it's only when they make an error on an easy play - something they are "supposed" to do without a problem. That's when my thoughts trailed to my business, as it often does, and how I'm lucky I don't have a giant scoreboard pinpointing my failures overhead. It would probably count the time I didn't follow up on a good lead fast enough, or sent something Ground instead of Overnight, so I missed the deadline, or when I negotiated a contract on the spot, without giving myself time to really think about it. These are the errors that stick out in my mind, and even though there isn't a scoreboard for everyone to see, I have one of my very own to remind me of these mistakes and hopefully learn from them.

I guess that's the only way I can keep playing the game - knowing that I'm going to make errors, and - fingers crossed - the runs and hits will outnumber them.

Do you have your own personal scorecard? How do you keep playing the game?