And regrets? Well I’ve had a few of those as well!
In reality we all have because mistakes and regrets are both an integral part of the decision-making process that all humans go through.
These decisions can be made either through omission or through commission but, needless to say, whichever method has been used they all couldn’t have been 100% correct.
That my friends, would be a statistical impossibility!
In conjunction with making mistakes comes another human personality trait that does not occur with the same level of statistical certainty, and that is the humility to admit that you have made one.
Children appreciate when a parent can acknowledge human frailty as do employees or anyone else that you come into contact with on a daily basis!
And, along those same lines, ordinary citizens appreciate when leaders have the capacity to do the same.
After all when we are choosing a leader, no matter the level, we are aware that we are not and cannot be selecting a perfect being as one does not exist.
Coming out of the blue, what is it this morning that brings me to that train of thought? For those of you who may know me better than others, it is not what (or who) you think.
Rather, it was a story that was mentioned on one of the business networks concerning a candidate for president of the United States who they say (according to an interview with said candidate) had managed to sell-off his stock positions at the high of the market.
This same candidate also will typically use the adjectives of best, greatest, amazing, huge, fantastic, winning and others when discussing his past, his current achievements or his future plans.
Any words or phrases that may concern mistakes, regrets or jobs not done as well as hoped are never to be found. And words conveying failure only appear when discussing rivals.
Is this mindset of infallibility one that we should desire to be present in a leader?
And by leader I mean of a country, a business, a department or even of a family.
The answer…Absolutely not!
Michael Haltman is President of Hallmark Abstract Service in New York. He can be reached at mhaltman@hallmarkabstractllc.com
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