Chapter 11 Dare to admit mistakes

A manager who has the courage to admit his mistakes can derive a certain satisfaction.This not only removes the atmosphere of guilt and self-justification, but also facilitates the resolution of substantive issues. Bruce Harvey, a corporate manager in Abcock, New Mexico, made the mistake of approving a salary for an employee who was on sick leave and gave him full pay.After he discovered the error, he told the employee that he needed to correct it and that the deduction would be made in the next paycheck.The employee said it would cause him serious hardship and requested that the overpayment be deducted in multiple installments.But this must be approved by the general manager.

"I knew that doing this would make my boss very unhappy," Harvey said. Admit your mistakes." "I went into the boss's office and told him about the mistake, but he threw a tantrum and said it was the HR department's fault, while I insisted it was my fault; he then yelled that it was the accounting department's fault , I still said it was my mistake; he blamed two other people in the office, but I still insisted it was my mistake. Finally, he said to me: "Then you go and correct this problem!" As a result, this mistake It worked out and it didn’t bother anyone. I thought I was pretty good because I could handle the emergency and have the courage to admit my mistakes. The boss has taken me more seriously since then.”

Any fool will justify his mistakes, and most fools do just that.Those who dare to admit their mistakes will not only gain the understanding of others, but also give people a humble and noble impression.For example, there is an excellent illustration in American history, and this is a thing about General Lee. He blamed Pickard's failure to attack Gettysburg entirely on himself, and blamed himself deeply for it. Pickard's attack was undoubtedly the most glorious battle in Western history.One afternoon in July, Pickard led the Southern Army to the Northern Union Army and launched an attack. The morale of the Southern Army was greatly boosted, and the soldiers couldn't help cheering for Pickett.They followed him with cheers, flags flying, bayonets flashing.Even the Northern Army couldn't help admiring the majestic and magnificent scene and the brave and outstanding team.

Pickard led the army forward quickly, and although the Union artillery kept firing hard at them, they did not flinch and marched forward.Suddenly, a Union army rushed out from behind the hill and opened fire on Pickett's army.A few minutes later, all but one of Pickard's brigade commanders survived, and the rest were killed, and 4,000 of the 5,000 soldiers died. The remnants of the southern army rushed to the death, fought with the enemy with bayonets and gun butts, and finally planted the southern army's flag on the northern army's position.The flag of the Confederate Army only flew over the Northern Army's position for a while, but this brief moment was, after all, a glorious record for the Confederate Army.However, Pickett's attack was a turning point in the end of the war. Although the Confederate Army won honors of honor and bravery, General Lee failed in the end, and the fate of the Confederate States was doomed.

General Lee was deeply saddened, and submitted his resignation to Davis, President of the Confederate Government, requesting another capable general.If General Lee wanted to blame other people for the disastrous failure of Pickard's charge, he could find dozens of excuses, such as some division commanders being incompetent, the cavalry arriving too late, and not being able to assist the infantry in the attack... In short, he could Find any reason to justify yourself. But General Li was too noble to blame others.When Pickard's remnants retreated from the front, General Lee rode out alone to meet them, and condemned himself, saying, "It was all my fault." He admitted, "It was me, I One loses this battle."

How many generals in history have such courage and sentiment as him, who dared to admit their mistakes?If a manager can dare to admit his mistakes like General Li, instead of shifting the responsibility to others, then he can not only win the appreciation of his superiors, but also the gratitude of his subordinates, making his work easier. A few years ago, my niece Josephine left home to work as my secretary in New York.She was only 19 years old, just 3 years out of high school, and had almost no work experience, but she is now a very competent secretary.In the beginning, she was sensitive.

One day, as I was about to criticize her, I said to myself, "Wait a minute, Dale Carnegie, just a moment. You are twice Josephine's age and ten thousand times more experienced. How can you expect her to have Your point of view, your judgment, your energy? That's normal though. Wait, Dale, what were you doing when you were 19? Remember your stupid moves, stupid mistakes? Remember your...?" After some consideration, I came to a conclusion: Josephine's ability at the age of 19 is much stronger than mine at that time.Still, I'm ashamed to admit that I don't compliment Josephine very often.

So, from then on, whenever I wanted to draw Josephine's attention to her mistakes, I would start by saying, "Josephine, you did one thing wrong, but God knows, I used to Well. Of course you are not born with judgment, that can only be learned from experience, and I was not as good as you when I was your age. I have made many stupid mistakes myself, so I do not want to criticize you or Anyone. But wouldn't it be better if you did that?" It would be much better if managers started by humbly admitting that they were not perfect, and then pointing out the mistakes of others.Prince Blow of Germany is elegant.He understood the rationale for doing so as early as 1909.At that time, Prince Blow was the Chancellor of Germany, and the German Kaiser was the arrogant Wilhelm, the last Kaiser of Germany-who built a navy and army and boasted of invincibility.

Soon, something that shocked the world happened.When the German Kaiser visited England, he said a lot of unbelievably stupid things. For example, he was the only German who was friendly to Britain; He saved England from surrendering to Russia and France; thanks to his plan of conquest, England defeated the natives in South Africa, and so on.Worst of all, he allowed London's Daily Telegraph to publish these insane words.As a result, the whole of Europe was shaken, and even spread to the whole world. For more than 100 years, no European king in peacetime has spoken such words.The whole of Europe was immediately stirred up like an irritated hornet, Britain was also irritated, and German politicians were terrified.In this situation, the German Kaiser was also panicked, so he proposed that the Chancellor Blow handle the matter-yes, he hoped that Prince Blow would take all the responsibility, admitting that it was he who advised the Kaiser to say these orders. unbelievable words.

"But, my lord," objected Prince Blow, "it seems to me that no one, neither in Germany nor in England, would believe that I would advise your majesty to say such things." As soon as he said this, Prince Blow realized that he had made a serious mistake.The Kaiser was really annoyed.He snarled, "Do you think I'm an ass who makes mistakes you'd never make?" Prince Blow knew that he should praise the emperor for a few words before making criticisms, but now that the matter has come to this point, he can only choose the best solution, which is to praise after criticizing.And the results of his doing so were marvelous--that's what compliments often have.

"I would never mean that," he replied respectfully, "Your Majesty is superior to me in many ways, not only in naval and army knowledge, but especially in natural sciences. Every time I listen to His Majesty explaining rain or shine Watches, wireless telegraphy, or Roentgen rays, I am ashamed of my ignorance of all kinds of natural science. I know neither chemistry nor physics, nor can I explain the simplest natural phenomena, so I have the utmost admiration for your Majesty." "However," continued Prince Blow, "as compensation for these defects, I am fortunate to know some historical knowledge, and useful knowledge in politics and especially in diplomacy." There was a smile on the Kaiser's face.Because Prince Blow praised him, and humbled himself.At this time, the Kaiser can already accommodate anything. "Didn't I always tell you?" he said enthusiastically, "Should we both complement each other so we can be famous? We should work together and be united, and we want to!" He shook hands with Prince Blow, not just once, but many times.That afternoon, he was especially excited, clenched his fists and shouted: "If anyone speaks ill of Prince Blow, I'll smash his nose with one blow!" Although Prince Blow saved himself in time, an astute diplomat like him still made a mistake: he should have talked about his own shortcomings and Kaiser Wilhelm's strengths in the first place, instead of implying that the Kaiser is a mentally weak man. , People in need of protection.If a few words of self-humbling and compliments could turn a haughty and surly German Kaiser into a solid and reliable friend, you can imagine how much humility and compliments play in our daily lives. effect!If used correctly, they are bound to work wonders in your day-to-day management.