I am here to say, I blinked last week.  A lot.  I blinked so much the window cleaner thought I was flirting.  Really?

I made a mistake on a spreadsheet that made my numbers look like I had a $30K deficit rather than $30 surplus.  I know these numbers like I know my own name yet an easy to make error made me doubt my number.  It may seem like a little thing but I am here to tell you, it is not.  At the end of the year (May 31^st) there is a careful balance between a deficit and leaving money on the table.  Fund accounting is the “use it or lose it” method of keeping the books.  When I was in school (approximately a billion years ago just after the use of the abacas) fund accounting was included in maybe a chapter of advanced accounting.  Happily, there are courses dedicated to not-for-profit and government accounting these days. 

I gave the go signal a few weeks ago to absorb the surplus.  For four days last week I felt sick to my stomach and couldn’t sleep because I thought I facilitated overspending.  It is my neck on the line.  By Friday I found my mistake but not before I lost a bit of credibility.  I never should have doubted my numbers.  Shame on me.

The worst part of it is that I did not trust my own numbers.  I believe the worst business characteristic I possess is in doubting me. 

I was talking about my career with our AD a few years ago and he gave me some of the best advice I have ever been given.  He said that in my desire to do my best and help people I tend to over apologize.  It seems I took the blame for things that went wrong and were not my fault.  What happens then is that I lose credibility (even though I did nothing to deserve it) and worse, I let the offenders off the hook by taking their bullet. 

That began my new attitude – No More Mister Nice Girl.  If I make a mistake, I will fess up and correct the problem.  Best of all (last week excepted) if I know I am right, I don’t blink!

Until next time!

Jude Russo Caserta

AthleticBudgetCoach.com/blog

Twitter: JudeCaserta Linkedin: Jude Russo Caserta

E-mail: judi_caserta@athleticbudgetcoach.com

Share on Facebook

Share this: