My Best Management Lesson from Christmas Past

Every Christmas I’m reminded of one of the best management lessons I ever learned. It was 1989 and I was an assistant manager at The Sharper Image in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. On the Sunday before Christmas we were mobbed from open to close; it was a record-breaking day.

Actually, the day had been a lot of fun, and the entire staff was in a good mood. All day the store manager, Keith, talked about the lobster dinner he was going to cook that night after work for some friends who were visiting. Keith, who was from New Orleans, had said to me, “Buddy, it’s going to be an exceptional dinner and evening.”

At the end of the day, I told him I would close out the register. While going through the closing out process, the system jammed up. Without thinking, I did the unthinkable:

I rebooted.

And to my utter disbelief and considerable horror, when the system booted up, every single sale from the day was gone. Every single sale vanished.

All I could think was that Keith was going to kill me.

Knowing how much Keith was looking forward to that lobster dinner, I dreaded the conversation we were about to have. I walked over to where he was feverishly cleaning and reluctantly told him that I had wiped out the entire day’s sales, and I would have to re-ring every single one. I quickly added that he could go on home to his dinner, and I would stay by myself and ring them.

He looked at me with a smile and said, “Buddy, things happen. The lobster can wait. Let’s get busy.”

About four hours later, well past the dinner hour, we finished the last transaction, and I closed out the register correctly. As we were leaving, I asked how he could be so calm about what happened. He looked at me and said, “An employee’s first mistake is always on me. Make the same mistake twice, and I won’t be so understanding. Time for me to go home and have some lobster. Merry Christmas, Doug.”

I replied, “Merry Christmas, Keith. Thank you for being so understanding.”

As I watched Keith walk down the mall hallway he turned, looked back at me, and yelled, “No problem buddy, the first mistake is always on me.” He turned the corner and headed home to his much anticipated lobster dinner.

The management lesson I learned from Keith that night is one of the best presents I’ve ever received. It’s one I gladly pass on to new managers. By claiming the first mistake for the employee, you allow the employee to grow and learn from his or her mistake.

We can’t learn from our mistakes if we’re worried about how much trouble we’re in when we make the mistake. People will almost invariably cause more damage covering up their mistakes than by the mistakes themselves. And, besides, for the most part, employees don’t make mistakes on purpose. I knew how to close out the register correctly but, that one time, I messed it up. On purpose? Of course not.

So the next time an employee makes a major mistake that causes your blood to boil, don’t yell. Practice this habit instead: Count to ten and repeat these words in a soothing voice: “Don’t worry. Things happen. The first mistake is always on me.”

Believe me, after hearing those words from Keith, I never ever made a mistake closing out the register again. I also became a better manager because of them.

Every Christmas, I think of Keith and the management lesson he taught me, and for that I am grateful. And wherever he is, I hope he is happy and still enjoying a lobster dinner.

Are your employees willing to admit to you that they’ve made a mistake?

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday buddy!