“Mistakes are a part of life; you can't avoid them. All you can hope is that they won't be too expensive and that you don't make the same mistake twice.”
~Lee Iacocca
As VIM Executive Coaching serves executive leaders who are usually connected to aspects of business, we wanted to start this post with a quote by Lee Iacocca, the brilliant executive leader who (among numerous credentials) was the person who brought the Ford Mustang to market. There are many variations to the above quotation however the consensus is that mistakes are bound to happen in executive leadership, and often they are unavoidable, however it is in repeating the same mistake where leaders get into trouble.
This point was brought home only last week, with a corner restaurant in our town. In actuality, it has been three restaurants: a pizzeria, a dumpling house and now, some type of ill-defined Mongolian BBQ establishment. The pizza place and the dumpling concept failed to succeed, and by all appearances, the Mongolian establishment with their “healthy bowls,” are in the midst of another swan dive.
We take no pleasure in seeing this kind of failure. We have known many retailers and restauranteurs who displayed the raw courage to stake out a territory and pursue a dream. Those who grumble within the corporate world who “want to launch a neighborhood coffee shop, car wash, pet groomer, etc.” usually underestimate the will and grit required to be a successful small business owner.
The sad reality of the corner restaurant, the fact that it changed concepts and owners at least in the three times we have observed it, is a pattern that is repeated within the corporate world on a daily basis as well.
Taking Chances is Not Reacting
The owners of the three restaurants reacted. We knew one of those owners whose philosophy was, “This is a great location, we should do well here.” In fact, she never fully surveyed the site (there was no nearby parking), didn’t account for the one-way street, nor the traffic signals. In addition, she was undercapitalized and if she had taken a walk around the block, she would have run into a Dim Sum place. She reacted. There was no measured response, no careful reflection and certainly no plan.
Within the organizational sphere the same dynamic often occurs on a more departmental or human resources level. Despite all the gut-level, feel stuff, there are countless recent articles on the fact that managers cannot manage. In a recent post by management expert Robert Tanner, MBA (May 20, 2025):
“Conflict in the workplace is not the problem that managers make it out to be. The real problem is how organizations choose to handle and respond to the certain conflicts that will occur in the workplace.”
Tanner is correct. Organizations are still not training their executive leaders to respond to situations, but to react to them. This is especially true, as the article explains, in the problems surrounding employee conflict.
Most executive leaders seek all sorts of written, digital pontifications (cheap advice) rather that sitting down with people and talking through their feelings. Many managers make the imagined conflict into a major problem before the real interaction even takes place. The managers are primed for “trouble” or disagreement far in advance of the interaction itself. As a result, the reactions are forced, pre-loaded and inauthentic. In short, reactive, unmindful and biased.
Of mindful thought
The problem we first noted, the same location changing hands three times, with three concepts, is no different than with ineffective volatile executive leaders who burn through employees or the organizations themselves. The small business owners took on an attitude that they would will success despite many obvious problems. They could not overcome their biases.
Mindfulness teaches executives to slow down, listen, reflect and respond. Often, subordinates walk out of meetings feeling as though they were never there; that no one took the time to respond to their concerns.
By the way, the dumpling shop did serve an excellent product. And, we believe in the fantastic executives we help as well. Sometimes, all it takes is a true, authentic, mindful response to see through the toughest problems.