This week I talk about a major problem I had with email. Watch now…
VIDEO SUMMARY
Last week, I promised I was going to make this video. So as difficult as this is, I am going to share with you my biggest mistake on the job. It has to do with email. Maybe some of you out there can relate to this, because there are so many problems that can happen with email. Most problems with email stem from the fact that it is so easy. It is so easy to send messages throughout the world. But since it is so easy to use, it is also easy to make a mistake. And I made a big one.
The other piece of this, is when you work in a position where you deal with accounting and financial information, you have access to a lot of sensitive company information. So you have to be very careful, what information gets sent out.
So at this point, you can probably see where this is going, but let us jump into the story. This happened at the very beginning of my career. I was working in a job that had 12 hour shifts, so I would come in to my desk at 7am and leave at 7pm, 5 days a week. So I come in one morning at 7am, and I get a frantic phone call from my boss. My boss starts yelling at me to send an email to a very important person. He wanted me to search through the company server for a file, attach it to an email and send it out. So I hang up the phone, find the file, attach it to the email, and hit send. Ten minutes later, all hell breaks lose. I get another phone call from my boss saying, “What did you do?” All I could say was “What?” because I had no clue what was going on. But I quickly realized, I had sent the wrong file. And the file I did send contained a lot of sensitive financial information. To make matters worse, this email was sent to a very, very important person outside of the company whom we were in the middle of negotiating a big deal.
Have you ever done something wrong and felt an extreme sinking feeling in your stomach? That’s how I felt. I had this sudden wave of fear waft over me. I was convinced I was going to get fired on the spot. And to be honest, I probably should have gotten fired for that mistake. But I ended up just getting some “extreme coaching sessions” from my bosses.
This mistake was a massive learning experience for me. I am actually glad this happened so early on in my career, because ever since I have been very careful with every email I send. That has probably been beneficial for my career. Since this happened so long ago, when I look back with some perspective, I realize there were some systematic problems in the business that contributed to this. My boss should not have been yelling at me, the files should have been labeled more clearly, and it was not my responsibility to send this email in the first place. However, I certainly take responsibility for my part in the mistake, which was that I was the person to send the email without fully understanding what it was. My advice to other business people is to be very thoughtful and deliberate with the emails you send. Once you hit the send button, you cannot take it back. Do not send out any email without:
- Fully reviewing any attachment
- Understanding what is being sent and who is the recipient
If you cannot do those two things, do not send that email.
So that was a big mistake. The reason I wanted to make this video, was to show that we all make mistakes. We are all going to mess up on the job at some point. What you want to do is learn from your mistakes, and use the experience to become a better business person. Your career is a journey. Everyone is going to stumble, and go through struggles. You will get through it. And a decade down the line, you will be able to look back and tell your own story, about the biggest mistake you made in your career.
If you have made a mistake with email, leave a comment down below so I do not feel like the only person who has made a mistake.
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Neither Zach De Gregorio or Wolves and Finance Inc. shall be liable for any damages related to information in this video. It is recommended you contact a CPA in your area for business advice.