We all heard about the Steve Harvey/Miss Universe debacle and we all gasped and laughed at the same time.

 

However, he’s not the only person who makes mistakes. A friend of mine’s Boss made a huge one a few weeks ago that caused quite a stir, let’s call the boss Jeffrey. Jeffrey, in his excitement for his upcoming vacation down south, made a TINY payroll mistake…and forgot to pay his employees before leaving to his WIFI-less bungalow by the beach.

 

You can only imagine the office freak out that ensued. Let’s just say the place was bursting at the seams with pissed-off campers. Phone calls of panic were made to get through to unreachable Jeffrey, emails were sent and I suspect even some type of carrier pigeon as everyone held their breath.  

 

Eventually, Jeffrey connected to WIFI in the city and discovered his big booboo along with 100 emails of distress. What did Jeffrey do? He followed Steve Harvey’s example and handled the situation quickly and with class.

 

1. He owned up to it right away: Steve took full accountability for the mix-up and Jeffrey did too. He quickly wrote a mass email to the whole company explaining the error and assuring everyone he was aware of it, had received their messages, and would handle it.

 

2. Apologize-sincerely: On live television, and on Twitter- Steve apologized to the contestants and to the world. Jeffrey imitated Steve in this regard and personally apologized to all of his staff members for putting them in this uncomfortable situation.

 

3. Don’t dwell on it: Steve apologized once…and then left it at that. Lingering is not proactive and Jeffrey knew that. He also knew that staying focused on the event would be a waste of time and energy.   

 

4. Fix-it: After the fact, Steve went backstage, spoke candidly about what happened with the contestants and gave the details in an interview. There was not much that could be done but he did everything he could to fix it. Jeffrey quickly called his accountant and made the arrangements to fix the mistake. The accountant then then corrected it and everyone ended up being paid only 1 day late.

 

5. Don’t be so hard on yourself: Ever since the event, Steve has been using humor and his wife’s support to cope with the media backlash and claims he is only human. Jeffrey, having rectified his mistake and placed his ducks in a row, got back to the beach and enjoyed the rest of his vacation!

Despite his error, we can all agree Steve and Jeffrey handled this situation with poise and dignity; you should do the same if you make a mistake at your office!

 

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