We’ve all been there at some point, you’re working on a project and something comes up and the proverbial hits the fan. The client decides to go in a different direction, a staff member hands in their resignation in the middle of a huge campaign. Whatever the situation, we try and make the best out of it.
We’re all human, mistakes are made, decisions are made without our involvement and for better or for worse we have to move on.
I always try and see the silver lining in the situation at hand. I did say TRY… I ask myself did I make a connection that’s worth its weight in gold? Did I learn a lesson? Was there a teachable moment?
I try and allow myself sometime to “sit” in the moment and then take a deep-breath and then move on.
My top tips for when it doesn’t go to plan:
- Be in the moment – cry (in private), get angry (in private), laugh at the absurdity of the situation, then move on
- If you need to vent to someone do so – privately and confidentially
- Take a breath
- Write what you’ve learned from the experience
- Make some points about how you could do things differently and try and use these points in the future
- Close the book and move on to your next project or activity
In an ideal world, we’d have plans for when it doesn’t go to plan, but the realist in me knows that some situations (like sending the wrong attachment) or addressing the wrong person just happen!
What do you do when it doesn’t go to plan?