What Is Wrong With This Picture?

How often do you pick up a magazine that shows two almost exact photos? If you locate several items missing from one photo and submit your entry, you may win several hundred dollars.

At first glance, it is hard to see the differences between photos. Over time, with more clarity and focus, plus experience with the photo, variations between items come into view. If you miss these items, the concept of errors comes into play.

Have you ever made an error? In baseball, an error is a misplay by a fielder that allows a batter to reach base or a runner to advance. As the statistics coach and official scorekeeper for an eight-year-old travel baseball team, I have spent many weekends judging whether a play involved errors or hits. Errors can be created in a variety of ways.

At times, people know their subject matter and make errors due to a lack of knowledge or detail. Others make errors due to simple laziness or inattention to detail. Many make errors by not utilizing simple judgment. Have you seen colleagues make mistakes without knowing they are making mistakes? Some errors are easy to identify. Others are complex and not easy to realize. We all make mistakes on a daily basis. The key is knowing when you fail and taking steps not to make the mistake a second time.

With experience, mentoring, common sense and self-auditing, corrections in course can happen as steps are taken. As we learn over time and grow into our jobs, the hope is that the margin of error is reduced. In many ways, this is easier said than done.

Let me illustrate a case study that I experienced. In my role as a consultant, I was invited to participate in a meeting between an executive director of a nonprofit facility, his staff and his boss. The purpose of the meeting was to learn more about a potential capital campaign for his facility. The possibility existed for a few board members to attend. It was assumed the board members were on a development committee.