Learn from the massive mistakes made by Carillion’s bosses
We all make mistakes – after all, what human being doesnt?
But when your mistake has a direct and overwhelmingly negative effect upon thousands of peoples jobs and livelihoods, a card or a pint isnt going to cut it.
This time its Carillions board of directors facing an inquiry as to whether they should be allowed to ever be company directors again, but this isnt the first time a business leader has made a bad move, and it surely wont be the last.
Read more: Grayling quizzed by Carillion inquiry on EY 'conflicts of interest'
Those in positions of this kind are there for a reason: they are comfortable with high levels of responsibility, and with taking more risk than the majority. Clearly, these are signs of success.
But make one terrible move, take one risk that doesnt work, and that success can turn into something worse than failure. Destruction. Chaos. Pain. Redundancy. Whole industries can be thrown into turmoil.
What do you do next when youre the one who created that? Let them come at you, guns blazing? Sit back, and pretend like its nothing? Be overcome with guilt? Numb yourself? Crack on, and find a new position? Blame someone else?
All are possible choices. All create different outcomes.
After working with countless business leaders and individuals with high levels of responsibility, this would be my advice to anyone facing the challenge of what to do after making a big mistake, like the Carillion bosses.
Be honest
Accept responsibility for your actions. Screw your ego – you just had a massively detrimental impact on real peoples lives. Dont avoid that.
No matter your success or power, there is no excuse for not having some compassion.
No one respects liars and shifty people who dodge the truth. You want to be trusted in another position? Get real about the part you actually played and admit it. You might not be liked immediately, but being a good person cuts through the guff long-term.
Look at the bigger picture
You lost this time, but youve still achieved a lot. Your mistakes are bigger than everyone elses, we can see that, but thats because you play with much larger stakes. Dont let this one loss – no matter its size and clearly disastrous impact – stop you from winning again.
People will hate you when you lose, but win for them or show them that you can, and theyll love you again.
Learn from your past
Get real about your mistakes. Many people wont forgive this one, but enough will. Make the mistake again? Forget it, youre done. While you cant take back what you did, you are in a unique position to know how not to mess up so massively next time, perhaps even to stop it happening to other businesses. Youre the bad guy, so do something to be the good guy.
If youve screwed up on a large scale, youll find no pity or sympathy.
However, if youve made it to this position, you dont care about that anyway. All that anyone cares about is cutting to the chase. Stop failing and start winning again – for everyones sake.
Read more: After Carillion, breaking up the Big Four is not the answer
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