Reminiscing on some lessons ….
Way back in the day (waayyyy back, when I could have legitimately been the color green), I was brand new to the PR world. I had no clue what I was doing, but I was eager to do it.
I had just been given the green light to start sending emails to clients (oh boy!).
I feverishly typed up a response to a client, scared yet exhilarated that my client would see MY name on an email.
I hit send.
Then all hell broke loose.
My boss at the time (no, I’m not going to name names or places, sorry!), who sat three seats behind me in a VERY open office setting, stood up, screamed across the room: “F*&#! I don’t EVER want to see an email going to a client again with a typo in it!”
I’m pretty sure – although I might have blacked out at that exact moment – that I ran from my desk to the bathroom and immediately called my mommy. I probably sat there in the bathroom stall, crying to her, saying that I couldn’t believe what just happened, what am I gonna do now, etc. etc. My mom probably said something along the lines of “suck it up,” and I probably (pretty likely) was mean to that boss ever since that day (I know, a little immature, but what can I say, I was young, defensive, and didn’t know how to constructively deal with these kinds of situations – you live and learn!).
Anyhoo, that moment was horrific. Embarrassing. Ego-breaking. And everything in between.
While I wouldn’t support the exact approach that boss took (slightly a little too aggressive for my taste), I must admit that I learned from that experience.
From that day on, I printed out every single email before sending it, and edited them with a red pen for the next seven years. Of course I’ve had typos in my career – NO ONE is perfect – but in the big picture, I learned to take the time to put my best foot forward; to slow down, assess, be willing to find flaws in my own work (that’s a big one), and continue to refine it. That’s a discipline that I have carried with me throughout my entire career.
What’s one time in your career that was just as excruciating to experience, but in hindsight, you learned from it?
(And by the way, that was very therapeutic. I might just have to reminisce on some more of these “golden” nuggets from my career …)