I was speaking at a conference in Orlando, Florida, and while there, I set up a meeting with a young millennial with whom I am consulting on a new startup idea. He flew down to Orlando so we could use the time around when I would be speaking to collaborate on his startup. After I was done speaking, we immediately jumped in the car to head to the airport since we both were flying out in the early afternoon. I knew that I had a short window to make my flight, so we used every available second to continue to discuss strategic issues related to the service, the rollout, upcoming meetings with potential investors, and so forth. Fortunately, traffic was light, and I made it to the airport about 50 minutes before my departure.
In fact, as I pulled into a parking spot at the Orlando airport and was collecting my bags, we were still actively collaborating. It was only after we were inside, and he was going to one terminal and I to another, that we stopped. After saying goodbye, I immediately looked for the TSA PreCheck lane and went to retrieve my license so I would be prepared to quickly go through the security clearance process. Feeling in my side coat pocket and not finding my wallet, I immediately realized that I had left my wallet in the car!
Here’s where Grounded traits come into play. I was already in the terminal, and I knew I needed my ID to get through security. It would have been easy to waste time fretting about the stupidity of forgetting my wallet, but the resulting waste of time would have certainly been fatal. I immediately realized that a) I was at the Orlando airport, and the access to parking there is close by, and b) if I moved with a purpose and immediately went to retrieve my wallet, I had just enough time to make my flight.
So I did. And without running (I have had a full hip replacement—I no longer run), but moving with a purpose, I was able to retrieve my wallet and, in less than 15 minutes, was in line at TSA and on to my boarding gate. I made my flight.
An important lesson is to not waste time fretting about mistakes, especially in a situation where time wasted can mean the difference between success and disaster. Start by examining any situation where you find yourself susceptible to fretting over a mistake. Did that time negatively affect your ability to bring the situation to a successful result? More often than not, the answer will be that the wasted time is critical time needed to bring about positive results. And even if the wasted time wouldn’t have mattered in a particular situation, why fret and fuss? It accomplishes nothing, and you could put that time to better use by creatively thinking about how to solve problems.
If you are a manager and one of your reports makes a mistake, your inclination may be to light into them and give them a good tongue-lashing, but it is likely you will say something you ordinarily wouldn’t with a clear and level head. Instead of reacting, thoughtfully respond and specifically DON’T have any discussion over the mistake immediately. Focus exclusively on creative thinking, and innovatively bring the situation to a positive conclusion. Afterwards, have a private conversation with your direct report and postmortem the issue. If a dressing down is called for, so be it, but you will now be in a private conversation, and it is likely that your words will be less emotional and you can focus on actions and performance and not personalities. I guaranty your employees will greatly appreciate this mode of instruction and counsel.