To err is human...; to correct is....?!

Yes, everyone, irrespective of his/her intelligence, education, and experience makes mistakes in life, sometime or the other. No one can dare say, 'I have never done a mistake'. If they say so, it is a blatant lie, for sure! If we are human beings, we are bound to make mistakes. The difference between various individuals is in the number of mistakes we commit, in our lifetime. If by a quirk of fate, some one does not do any mistake, then he is not human..... may be a super-human (or a well-orchestrated robot)!

Here, I am talking about 'genuine mistakes', not the type of mistakes or mischief committed by people, knowingly. What is committed without realizing that it is a mistake, is a 'genuine mistake'. Only when some one else points out, the doer will realize that it is a mistake. The mistakes happen without our knowledge. It could be due to lack of knowledge of the subject, carelessness, forgetfulness, mental slip, or some such thing.

How could we avoid making mistakes, in future? Before doing a job, we must fully equip ourselves with the required knowledge; take care at every step, revise the work. If possible, give it to someone else to check (if that is not going to harm your interests). Be alert, all the time, while doing the job. If you have the habit of forgetting (due to advancing age, or by your very nature!), keep a note of it in writing and review it while on the job.

Even when we are equipped with proper knowledge, due to carelessness or mental slip, the mistakes are bound to happen, despite our sincere efforts. Most of the time, we may require the work to be approved by our senior/boss. If the mistake is found by them, we cannot escape their fury (depending on the nature of the mistake and the net result of the mistake). Most of us would have experienced such pathetic situations in life.

Here is where the person to correct 'the mistake' enters. If the person to approve our work happens to be a 'bossy' type, we will have it! If the person is a true 'leader', he will guide us as to how to correct the mistake with the minimum damage. Such leaders are a class apart. Though we see such leaders in life, they are like an 'endangered species'. Their vast experience and compassion come into play while correcting our genuine mistake.

Satish Dhawan was the chairman of Indian Space Research Organization in 1979 and at that time, Dr. Abdul Kalam was the director of Satellite Launch Vehicle program. When the mission headed by Kalam failed to put the satellite in the orbit, Satish Dhawan called for a press meet and informed the press that 'we failed' (taking the responsibility of the failure on him). In the next year when the same mission succeeded, he asked Dr. Kalam to conduct the press meet in his absence, so that the credit goes to Kalam & team. That is the quality of 'leadership'.