A lesson from Randy Pausch

As many of you probably know, there is a remarkable man named Randy Pausch fighting for his life at this very moment. Pancreatic cancer will soon take him from his young family, as the doctors do not expect him to live more than a few more months. (Randy's blog and Last Lecture on Oprah) Given the recent passing of Tim Russert, I felt it necessary to honor this man while he is still with us.

A good friend of mine confided in me he had to reveal to a client their past six months worth of research was sent into "cyber la-la land" and there was no way to get that information back. This is one of their largest clients - how do you even begin to fix it? Randy Pausch has the answer - make the apology REAL and SINCERE.

As Randy states, "A good apology has three parts:
1. I’m sorry.
2. It was my fault.
3. How do I make it right?

The last part tells about your sincerity."

This lesson applies to all aspects of life - including clients. When my friend approaches their client, he will follow these steps Randy Pausch has suggested... but, he is also coming in with ways on how to fix it. We can all take a lesson from this - if you do make a mistake: apologize, own it and fix it.