People make mistakes, for sure, some of which are seem incredibly stupid. What strategies can be used to communicate mistakes without making the perpetrator feel worse than he already does but will help others to avoid doing the same thing?

-- B Orze (borze@nmh.org), November 29, 2001

Answers

Hi there, You might find these two stories useful:

Good Ways to Deliver Bad News Dr. Robert Buckman is a cancer specialist who teaches doctors -- as well as executives at IBM, Andersen Consulting, and Upjohn -- how to break bad news: "You can't let emotions interfere with your message." http://www.fastcompany.com/online/23/buckman.html

Make Smarter Mistakes Nobody's perfect. Here are six reality- tested strategies for fixing, preventing, and learning from the bad things that can happen to good businesspeople. http://www.fastcompany.com/online/11/mistakes.html

-- Anni Layne Rodgers (arodgers@fastcompany.com), November 30, 2001.