It is OK to fail, and people fail all the time. The question is what you do next. Here are 10 steps I practice in my personal life.
- Attitude is everything. The world never owes you a living and try to have a positive outlook.
- I repeat be optimistic. Optimistic people are more successful in life and people want them around. Make sure you emit the right vibes, your dressing sense and behavior is correlated with your words, actions & intent.
- Projection is important. Make sure that people are told what you are doing & what value you are adding. Often bosses don’t understand your work and hence cannot appreciate it.
- A firing from boss often results in a dispassionate attitude. This lack of passion will lead to casual behavior, lack of attention to detail, loss of rigor & pro-active approach. All these are sure-shot recipe for a total disaster from which one can never recover. Take a break if you have to, but don’t let the harsh words get to you.
- Push back unreasonable demands. It is common to get overwhelmed with a never ending work getting piled up. Don’t over-commit and under-deliver. Set right expectations and distribute work if you have to.
- Attention to detail is important. If you are reading this post, probably you are already walking on thin ice. Further mistake and omissions will only aggravate the problem. Don’t try to push things out of the way. Concentrate on perfection.
- Focus on your strengths. Try to score a quick win by plucking a low hanging fruit. You need a moral boaster
- If you need help, shout for it and shout early. How will the world know your side of the story if you don’t tell it?
- Don’t lose faith in yourself ever. If you doubt your ability, then the world would have already smelled it and are probably asking the same questions about your competency.
- Cut your losses early and don’t waste your career over a lost cause. Not every battle is meant to be won. A fish can never scale trees nor a monkey cross the deep seas.
Essentially early interventions through an open dialogue and small tweaks in the attitude can rectify most failures at work place. Try to have an open communication with stake holders and exuberance positive energy. You will be surprised to realize how considerate your team and bosses will be. Most people are reasonable and are willing to wait if they believe you can work hard & recover.