Overcoming setbacks

• How do you analyze setbacks, however small, during a project?
• A certain amount of face-saving is natural and can't be eliminated.
• But excessive face-saving is major barrier to learning.
• How can you learn if no setback is ever your fault?
• No matter what goes wrong and or who can be blamed, you can always ask yourself: ''What could I have done differently to have prevented that?'' And: ''What could I do differently next time?''
• If you fail to ask yourself such questions you will fail to learn.
• There is nearly always something you could do to rescue a situation. If done consistently, you will demonstrate real leadership and your reputation for good decisions will be high.
• Finally, good decision makers accept that they cannot get it right all the time.
• In an age of ever increasing complexity, a fair percentage of good decisions is the best you can do.