I was speaking at a conference in Orlando, Florida, and consulting with a young millennial about a new startup idea. He had flown down to Orlando so we could use the time around when I would be speaking to work 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 I had a short window to make my flight, so we used every available second to continue the discussion on 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 with about fifty minutes to spare before my departure.
In fact, as I pulled into a parking spot at the Orlando airport and collected my bags, we were still actively collaborating. It was only when we got inside and he was going to one terminal and I to another that we finished speaking. 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 my side coat pocket and not finding my wallet, I immediately realized 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. The resulting waste of time would have been disastrous. I immediately realized that: one, I was at the Orlando airport and the access to parking there is close by; and two, if I moved with purpose and immediately went to retrieve my wallet, I would have just enough time to make my flight. So I did. And without running (I have had a full hip replacement, so I don’t run) but moving with a purpose, I was able to get my wallet and, in less than fifteen minutes, I was back in line at TSA and on my way to my boarding gate.
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 waste time fretting and fussing? It accomplishes nothing, at least nothing that brings anything lastingly positive.
If you are a manager and one of your reports makes a mistake, your inclination may be to give them a good tongue-lashing. It is likely that you would say something that you wouldn’t ordinarily with a clear and level head. Specifically DON’T have any discussion over the mistake. Instead, focus exclusively on bringing the situation to a positive conclusion. Afterwards, have a private conversation with your direct report and post-mortem the issue. If a dressing-down is called for, so be it. But you will now be in a private conversation; it is likely that your words will be less emotional, and you can focus on actions and performance and not personalities. I guarantee your employees will greatly appreciate this mode of instruction and counsel.