by Ted Eytan, on 03 Mar 2007 09:39 am
The Journey
Sorry
I’ve been more interested in this word since we started this work, both in how I see others use it, and how I use it, which I am doing with greater frequency.
The Internet Service Provider that hosts this Web site (and 350,000 others), said sorry about a significant outage they had last weekend due to a power failure. Theirs is a bit tongue in cheek but I think it gets the point across that they have compassion for their customers’ inconvenience. The other thing that gets the point across is the use of a blog, which allows their customers to provide feedback, all uncensored. Would I continue to do business with this organization based on this? Absolutely.
In my work here, I have said “I’m sorry” for errors discovered (and fixed quickly), for functions and features that we do not have the resources to provide, on behalf of myself, on behalf of my team, and in some cases on behalf of the entire organization. I have said it to individual members, to physician colleagues, to teams, and departments. If I had to estimate the number of times I’ve said “I’m sorry” in the past 2 years, I would put the number in the dozens. I said it again this week on behalf of my team, and will likely repeat it several times in the next few weeks.
At first glance, that number of apologies seems excessive, and maybe even credibility reducing. On second glance, though, it is not. Each time it has freed us to think about what we can do better next time for our members. The caveat to all of this is that when I say it, I mean it. If I don’t mean it, I don’t say it. That’s the most important part.
In the overwhelming majority of the “I’m sorry”’s. I have not received any feedback. In the few instances that I have, I’ve seen that the result is not that we are seen as less capable, but the opposite. The same is true when I’ve encouraged a colleague to say “I’m sorry” to another person. The interaction leaves both individuals with less burden and renewed interest in solving problems together.
A physician told me a few weeks ago that he still remembers an episode a year ago when we found a problem, informed medical staff about it along the way, and fixed it. He did not remember the details of the problem (as I do, in vivid technicolor…) - he remembered how we managed it, and further that he had not seen this approach in other institutions he has worked in. This is exactly what I would like him to remember in our work together.