A Wet Mistake

January 23 2023
By: Shawn M. Galloway

Homemade hot cocoa is an enjoyable treat for the kids in the winter, even in Texas. So, two of my older daughters helped the triplets make theirs. My seventeen-year-old spilled some on one of her favorite sweaters. I offered to help get the stain out. Wanting the sweatshirt to soak as a part of the process, I placed it in the utility sink in the laundry room.

A Wet Mistake

Filling it up takes time, so I left the room to get something. Distracted, I found myself deep in another task when I remembered the sweater. Running back into the laundry room, I discovered the sink spilling over onto the tile floor below. Luckily, a quick mistake to clean.

Many sinks in the bathrooms in American homes have overflow holes in them to provide the capacity to deal with an overflow error. Why not also have these in large sinks, where people would intentionally fill them up?

Mistakes should be planned for in many environments. When mistakes happen, does your company have systems to minimize the undesired result and quick recovery back to the pre-event state? Are these systems in place where you really need them?

"Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to error that counts." — Nikki Giovanni

"At an early age I learned that people make mistakes, and you have to decide if their mistakes are bigger than your love for them." — Angie Thomas

"Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time." — George Bernard Shaw


Shawn M. Galloway

Shawn M. Galloway is CEO of the global consultancy ProAct Safety. He is a trusted advisor, professional keynote speaker, and author of several bestselling books on safety strategy, culture, leadership, and behavior-based safety. He is a monthly columnist for several magazines and one of the most prolific contributors in the industry, having also authored over 700 podcasts, 200 articles, and 100 videos. Shawn has received awards and recognition for his significant contributions from the American Society of Safety Professionals, National Safety Council's Top 40 Rising Stars and Top Ten Speakers, EHS Today Magazine's 50 People Who Most Influenced EHS, ISHN Magazine's POWER 101 - Leaders of the EHS World and their newest list: 50 Leaders for Today and Tomorrow, Pro-Sapien's list of The Top 11 Health and Safety Influencers and is an Avetta Distinguished Fellow.





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