The CEO of BrewDog, a Scottish brewery and franchise, learned many lessons in the process of establishing his successful brewing company and he is not ashamed to explain his biggest mistakes that got him to where he is now. From elastic band labels on their bottles to shipping a container of beer 4,964 miles in an unrefrigerated shipping container, James Watt learned how to make his company better the hard way. He does not shy away from admitting his mistakes and in fact finds the humor in it as he was young and just starting out. He went into it knowing that he would not be able to perfectly deliver every time and that helped him take risks. Sure, some of the risks did not pay off (see Pink IPA for a tongue in cheek International Women’s Day promotion) but Watt realized that in order to be successful you need to try new things and be innovative in the way you market yourself or your product to customers and clients.
Watt also goes into detail on how BrewDog was able to recover from those mistakes. Like the time BrewDog acquired a proud London-based craft cider business, Hawkes, and started producing the cider in Scotland. Watt recognized that customers were not happy with the move so he quickly shifted back to producing the cider in its hometown. He was able to quickly pivot back to the original production location and figured out how to expand that location to accommodate a larger customer base.
Trying new things and responding accordingly to customer’s complaints is part of what makes a successful company so successful. Salesforce consultants can use Watt and BrewDog as inspiration for how to react after a mistake is made and how to recover quickly to maintain their success in a competitive market.
The COVID-19 pandemic displayed the importance for a fast recovery. With businesses having to reimagine their daily structure, let alone rethink how to continue to reach customers, this turbulent time has proven to be rich with mistakes, incorrect assumptions, and complete failures. Yet, there seems to be a universal understanding that things are not going to run smoothly right now. This has given many people the courage to try and fail and try again. The ones who show resilience and manage to get back up again quickly are the ones who are going to be more successful in the future.
A company’s long-term success is dependent on how quickly it can recover from disaster, so don’t dwell for too long. Follow Brewdog’s lead and own up to your mistakes. Accept responsibility where it is due, admit you were wrong, apologize if need be, and then develop a plan to fix what ever went wrong. Ask yourself these questions to help you analyze where you went wrong and speed up the recovery process:
How many mistakes did I make in this project/quarter/phase?
Is this a recurring problem that could be solved by taking a course or seeking advice from someone in your network?
How crucial were the mistakes?
Is fixing this mistake even a priority or can I continue working on the project as is?
How can I fix those mistakes without losing valuable time?
If it is a priority, how fast can I recover and get back on track?
Why did I make those mistakes in the first place?
Is there a way I can better prepare myself so that I don’t make those mistakes again?
That last question should not be brushed over. It addresses the root of the problem and allows you to analyze your actions and contributions to the project or situation. It also prompts you to think about how you will go about it differently in the future. This feeds directly into your consultancy’s vitality since you will learn and get better with every mistake you make.
Once you have gone through the list of questions, get to work. Prioritize the steps that you need to take in order to fix your mistakes. Ask for help, reach out to colleagues, look to other companies for inspiration on what to do and not do in order to get back on track.
Don’t let your past mistakes scare you away from trying something new or taking a risk that does not end up paying off. As long as you learn from your errors and prove that you can do better next time, then your mistake is nothing to shy away from. It shows that you are trying and clients are always searching for that consultant that can give them innovative solutions and inspire them to look at problems from a different perspective. Making mistakes comes with the territory when you are constantly trying new things, experimenting with strategies, and getting creative. You’ll have to get out of your comfort zone to be successful so prepare yourself for the inevitable mistakes and failures and get ready for the rewarding feeling of learning from your mistakes, trying again, and succeeding.
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