Perfection in Mistake

I am sure that you have heard about Major League Baseball umpire Jim Joyce's mistake that cost Detroit Tiger pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game.  In case you haven't, Galarraga had pitched 8 and 2/3 of a perfect game.  The final batter grounded to first base, the first baseman fielded the ball and threw to Galarraga about a step and half ahead of the runner.

All that we needed for the third perfect game of the season was an out sign.  Instead, Joyce signaled safe.  Later he would say, I thought he was safe up until the time I saw the replay. "I just cost that kid a perfect game."   Galarraga was equally gracious in his attitude in forgiving Joyce.  As one ESPN reporter said, there was no perfect game tonight, but we had a lot of perfect moments.  What can we learn?

1.  Mistakes are going to happen.  I believe that there has been one perfect man walk on earth 2000 years ago.   That means that the rest of us will make mistakes.  How we handle those mistakes goes a long way to determine our legacy.

Now Joyce really did not have much of a choice because of the re-plays that game footage offered.  At the same time, he immediately owned the mistake and faced Galarraga and his teammates, the crowd, the media, etc.  You and I don't have instant replay to spotlight our mistakes.  But I am willing to bet that we have all had that moment when we realized we were wrong, our reaction talks about our character.  Do we own our mistake or do we try to rationalize?

2.  What about when someone else makes a mistake?  Last week we had a small issue around the station.  I asked the person who was in charge of the situation what happened?  She looked me right in the eye and said, I made a mistake and it is fixed.  As a leader, that is really all you can ask.  She owned the mistake and fixed it.

3.  Put the mistake in perspective.  I think Jim Joyce's mistake was actually good for baseball.  I know it sounds weird.  But give me a second here.  The sport, I love by the way, has had a lot of bad press. Steroids, former stars lying to congress, and tell all books, just to name a few.  This story is about character, honesty, and doing the right thing.  The next time a mistake is made on your team, look for the learning opportunity.

Remember, if you have a team who is afraid to make mistakes, you will have team who is under achieving.  Have a great week. 

The next time you need a speaker, make it easy on yourself and call me. I will inspire, motivate, and entertain your group. Check out my speaking demo at www.bransonbusiness.blogspot.com then call (417) 339-6568 for availability. The only way I look good is making you look good for booking me.

Branson's Biggest Mistake

The last thing that the world wide web needs is another blogger with an axe to grind. That is not my motivation. I feel blessed to work for a great company, in a great place, Branson, MO, in a great, but ever changing, industry --radio. I told you last time we talked that my post would be what I consider one of Branson's biggest mistakes, so here goes.

A few years ago there was a media campaign and promotion celebrating the fact that Branson was the home of over 100 shows. My perception is that there were just a few people who were really excited about the effort, but those few really pushed hard. That campaign should have never happened. Here are my reasons:

1. If you asked 100 people to list their top ten shows in Branson, there would be a large percentage of repeat names. Probably, you would have six or seven shows coming up in all the lists and three or four different shows would round out the ten. Whether it was intentional or not, that campaign put all the shows on the same level -- we have 100 shows and you should see them all.

The fact is -- even though we have less than 100 shows now, we have a lot of shows with product problems. Here are the facts, if a brand new Branson visitor sees one of our top shows first, their opinion is going to be very high about seeing another show. If, for whatever reason, they see a show with a real product problem first, the rest of the shows suffer because the chance of our new visitor seeing an additional show decreases.

2. More is not better -- better is better. If you have been in the area long enough to remember McGuffey's Restaurant, you remember a real success. The food was great, atmosphere was fun and it was the hot place to go. People would brag about how long they waited for a table. The servers wore buttons that said the answer is Yes. They owned this market.

Then, the decision was made to add more locations and everything changed. The quality diminished, the service was no longer special and it was not to long that McGuffey's closed.

The over 100 show campaign was based on great intentions to promote Branson. I believe that when you focus on quantity instead of quality -- everybody loses.

What can your business learn from these lessons?

1. More is usually not the answer. Your advertising probably reaches enough people to have a positive impact, the question is can you convert that reach into business.

2. Think through your campaign. Does it really sell your service and does it really convey the message you want your audience to know about your business?

3. Product is King -- for any advertising to work well, you have to have the right product.

A disclaimer: Some of the hardest working people I know work in the music show industry. They are talented, dedicated people with a passion to entertain. Please do not think that this blog is a shot to them -- in fact, it is in support of them. Stay Tuned!