You Screwed Up…Now What?

Everyone screws up at some point — we’re only human. What sets people apart is how they respond. Some bend over backward to make things right, while others get defensive, point fingers, or go radio silent — turning a bad situation into something worse. The truth is, most people are willing to overlook a mishap if you handle it well — but some manage to dig themselves even deeper. How do you react after you’ve screwed up?

You know when you’ve let someone down, failed to hold your end of the deal or put your needs ahead of someone else’s. You know the moment the deadline passed, the budget was blown, or your product or service didn’t deliver as promised.

What’s Done Is Done, but What’s Next Is Up to You

When you realize you’ve screwed up, do you own it and make things right — or retreat and hope no one notices? The way you respond to mistakes reveals everything. As the saying goes, “People don’t care what you say until they see what you do.” Here are 10 reactions that drive people crazy…

Do you:

Listen with empathy or just brush it off?
Respond promptly to emails and calls or go dark?
Accept responsibility or pass the buck?
Solve the problem or offer lip service?
Give a genuine apology or pretend nothing’s wrong?
Connect the individual to a real person or send them to a generic FAQ page?
Provide solutions or make excuses?
Create a sense of urgency or wait until time allows?
Stay engaged after the sale or disappear once the deal is done?
Learn and improve or repeat the same mistakes?

Mess Up. Fess Up. Step Up

We’ve all made mistakes, missed opportunities, or wished we could go back and do things differently. While the past is set in stone, the future remains yours to shape. As Henry Ford said, “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”

Turning a wrong into a right starts with intention. Consider these 10 guidelines:

Show that you care. When things go wrong, people want to know you understand the situation, genuinely empathize with them, and are fully committed to making things right.

Accept responsibility. Own the problem instead of blaming others or passing the buck.

Focus on the long-term relationship. A single mishap doesn’t have to end it. Turn a dissatisfied person into a happy one. Put yourself in their shoes. Be their advocate. Think long term.

Communicate more, not less. Give status reports on a regular basis — even if you have nothing major to report. People want reassurance that you’re engaged, responsive, and genuinely invested in the outcome.

Tell the whole truth. Be open, honest, and fully transparent. Don’t bury details in the fine print.

Under promise and over deliver. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. It’s better to exceed expectations than to fall short.

Hold others accountable. If you delegate a task, follow up. Others may not share your sense of urgency. In the end, you’re still accountable for making things right.

Address new problems head-on. If something else goes wrong, be straight with people. Tell them you’re on it — don’t let them discover it themselves.

Provide updates regularly. People aren’t mind readers. Just because you know what’s happening doesn’t mean they do. No news often feels like bad news.

Leave a lasting impression. Fixing the problem isn’t enough. After you resolve the situation, go the extra mile to make up for the inconvenience. In addition, follow up weeks later to be sure everything is still on track.

You Messed Up — Now Show Up

When something goes wrong, people aren’t just upset about the mishap — they’re frustrated when it feels like no one’s listening, no one cares, and they lack the means to fix it themselves. Given that, what matters most is showing that you hear them, that you care, and that you’re absolutely committed to making things right. That shouldn’t be hard to do — if you actually care. As Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”