From Math Nerd to Brochure Blunder - Lessons from a Communicator's Journey

Early in my career, I was a compensation analyst at a consulting firm. However, destiny had other plans for this English major and I switched lanes to join the Communications practice. Excel was not my friend. I’ll be forever grateful to the leader who saw this and instead of deciding I was a helpless performance issue, he helped me find the right role!

On this project, I was supporting a client in unveiling their new Gainsharing Plan. I crafted a detailed presentation and a glossy brochure that could double as a mirror. All seemed well — until the brochure went to print without a proper peer review. Cue the drama.

The client started distributing the brochures at his launch meeting and there it was — the error, glaring like a neon sign in a blackout. My phone rang. I was sure my career was over as the client unleased his wrath. The formula in the brochure was wrong! Turns out, making the client look bad isn’t a great career move. Who knew?

But wait — I survived and went on to work another six years for the firm. Here’s what I learned from this one (not so little) mistake:

• Let the Experts Do Their Job: Math? Calculations? It was no longer my job. Always involve the right people in your review process (e.g., Legal, HR, Finance, IT). Remember, as communicators, the experts oversee the accuracy of the technical content, we manage “how” that content is positioned, explained, and shared with employees.
• Take the Hit: It was my error — I immediately owned up to it to my boss and colleagues. Never shy away from saying “I messed up” or “it was my mistake.” Turns out, honesty doesn’t just set you free — it keeps you employed.
• Know that the Buck Stops with You: If you are the senior leader on the team, you are ultimately responsible even when a junior buck messes up. The two Senior Consultants on this project assumed I had it covered. I did not. On this day, they both took their own hits, but never threw me under the bus. In fact, one came over to say, “it happens, learn from it and move on.” Imagine — consoling the junior buck after she bucked it all up!
• Make it Right. We hustled together. The client got an updated presentation pronto, with the elusive — but now correct — formula. The brochure was fixed, reprinted and shipped faster than an Amazon Prime package at our expense, of course.

It was a costly lesson, but I’ll never forget it.

That is the thing about big mistakes, there is always a lesson to be learned.

Is there a mistake you made years ago that you still think about today? What did you learn?

I’ll be sharing more mistakes and learnings from my 20+ year career in communications and my latest adventure as an independent communications consultant.

#InternalCommunications #EmployeeExperience #NewBeginnings #LessonsLearned