Give Yourself Permission to Screw Up!
I am in a book club and Kristen Hadeed’s book, “Permission to Screw Up: How I Learned to Lead by Doing (Almost) Everything Wrong” was chosen. The title intrigued me, but as I started reading, I could not stop. I am not sure if it was Ms. Hadeed’s storytelling abilities or that I could identify with the heartache that comes with running a business!
Background
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Kristen was going to college in Florida and she wanted to buy a pair of jeans that cost $100. In order to earn the money, she decided to clean a few houses. This grew into her starting a business called Student Maid. Kristen had hired 60 students to clean apartments and on a hot 100 degree summer day 45 of those students came to her when she was relaxing in the air conditioned clubhouse and quit. The book is a story about her transformation of an almost comically inept leader to a sought-after CEO who teaches others how to lead. She gave hugs instead of feedback, fixed errors instead of enforcing accountability, and hosted parties instead of cultivating meaningful relationships. It’s a story of how she was successful, not despite her mistakes, but because of them.
Lawsuit:
Early on Kristen’s father, an attorney, recommended that she trademark her business name to make sure there were no problems. Christine ignored his counsel and later received a letter from an attorney telling her she’s being sued for using the name StudentMaid.She called her dad to have him get her out of this mess, but he refused. She was being sued for infringing upon a business that had already trademarked that name. Looking back, Kristen realizes how her dad in this situation helped her grow into a person that can solve problems on her own.
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Shepherd’s Pie:
Kristin has a code word “shepherd’s pie” and that means that she has to drop everything because something went terribly wrong. She was traveling and got a text as she was boarding the airplane. Kristen did not call the office to fix the “fire” and come to the rescue. After she landed, she saw a message that started out saying call ASAP and then ended with everything is okay because her team handled the emergency. This situation became the process for all emergencies. They were smart and could find the answers without Kristen flying in to solve it!
Like parents need to work on their marriage for the benefit of the kids, Kristen found that it was just as important for managers to get together and bond away from the office. She would find group deals where they could get away on a retreat for 4 to 5 days. This is where David and his team would plan out business decisions, make improvements, as well as bond with each other sharing personal situations. This is where she would care for them as a person, rather than an employee. Kristen’s brutally honest and open kimono stories of her business struggles encourages us to embrace our failures and proves that we will be better leaders when we do!
