Management Tip of the Day: 3 Tips for Responding to Failure

Are you having trouble viewing this email? If so, click here to see it in a web browser. HOME   |   BLOGS   |   THE MAGAZINE   |   BOOKS   |   AUTHORS   |   STORE RSS   |   Mobile JUNE 22, 2011 3 Tips for Responding to Failure Everyone reacts differently to failure: some immediately accuse others while some take the heat themselves, even if undeserved. Next time you and your team fail, resist the temptation to place blame. Take these three steps instead: Think before you act. Don't respond immediately or impulsively. Doing so can make matters worse. Take the time to consider several possible interpretations of the event and how you might react. Listen and communicate. Never assume you know what others think. Gather feedback and then explain your own actions and intentions. Search for a lesson. Mistakes happen. It may be that you're to blame, someone else is, or no one is. Create and test hypotheses about how and why the failure happened to prevent it from happening again. Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Managing Yourself: Can You Handle Failure?" by Ben Dattner and Robert Hogan. Read the full article and join the discussion » Share Today's Tip: FEATURED PRODUCT Harvard Business Review on Making Smart Decisions Harvard Business Review Paperback Series If you need the best practices and ideas for smart decision making—but don't have time to find them—this book is for you. Here are ten inspiring and useful perspectives, all in one place. This collection of HBR articles will help you make bold decisions that challenge the status quo, support your decisions with diverse data, avoid choices that justify past bad decisions, and more. ADVERTISEMENT Follow the Tip: PREVIOUS TIPS Do What Only You Can Do Know the 6 Steps in Cost/Benefit Analysis You Can Prevent Silo Thinking Use Constraint to Instigate Innovation Prepare Your Speech, but Be Ready to Change It 3 Rules for Making Your Writing Clear Look Beyond the Financials Don't Mix Business with Pleasure Share a Hypothesis Instead of a Directive Treat Every Task as Three Steps, Not One BEST SELLERS HBR's 10 Must Reads: The Essentials HBR's Must Reads Library Set Guide to Persuasive Presentations Guide to Better Business Writing Guide to Getting the Right Work Done Free HBR Interactive issue Download the iPad app HBR Reads, and get your issue with audio and video interviews and multimedia slideshows. Learn more » UNSUBSCRIBE   |   UPDATE YOUR PROFILE   |   MORE EMAIL NEWSLETTERS   |   PRIVACY POLICY Was this email forwarded to you? If so, sign up to start receiving your own copy. ABOUT THIS MAILING LIST You have received this message because you subscribed to the "Management Tip of the Day" email newsletter from Harvard Business Review. If at any point you wish to remove yourself from this list, change your email address, or sign up for other email newsletters and alerts, please visit the Harvard Business Review Email Newsletter Preference Center. OPT OUT If you do not wish to receive any email messages from Harvard Business Review, click here. ADVERTISE WITH HBR This enewsletter is read by thousands of decision makers every day. Learn more about connecting your brand with this audience. Copyright © 2011 Harvard Business School Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing | 60 Harvard Way | Boston, MA 02163 Customer Service: 800-545-7685 (+1-617-783-7600 outside the U.S. and Canada)