“sales,” we typed the word “sale.” The computer can’t
tell that’s not a correct word.
Supervisor/Keith:
So we skipped a needed project phase to meet the
project deadline?
Both:
Yes.
Keith:
How do you think we can avoid this with
upcoming projects?
Karen:
I think we need a “check-off” system requiring
verification of each phase before the job can move to the
next one.
Bob:
That would work. Two of us could do a final proof on
critical print projects. Some external projects like the
Annual Report might warrant that.
Keith:
Those both sound like great ideas. Karen, could you
sketch up what one of those “check-off” forms might
look like?
Karen:
Sure.
Keith:
I’ll take it with me when I tell Mr. Wells about the mistake.
He isn’t going to like this, but I think he will appreciate
knowing we are taking concrete steps to avoid
future errors.
If we can’t avoid them, by the way, we might need to hire
someone to do nothing but proofread, and there probably
wouldn’t be enough money in the budget to do that and
still have Christmas bonuses.1 Coaching, Mentoring and Managing
If you never make
mistakes, you’ll
never make
discoveries.