Bruce Harvey of Albuquerque, New Mexico, had incorrectly authorized payment of full wages to an employee on sick leave. When he discovered his error, he brought it to the attention of the employee and explained that to correct the mistake he would have to reduce his next paycheck by the entire amount of the overpayment. The employee pleaded that as that would cause him a serious financial problem, could the money be repaid over a period of time? In order to do this, Harvey explained, he would have to obtain his supervisor's approval. The whole mess was his fault and he had to admit it to his boss. He walked into his office, told him that I had made a mistake and then informed him of the complete facts. He replied in an explosive manner that it was the fault of the personnel department. He repeated that it was my fault. He exploded again about carelessness in the accounting department. Again he explained it was my fault. Boss blamed two other people in the office. But each time he reiterated it was my fault. Finally,Boss looked at him and said, 'Okay, it was your fault. Now straighten it out.' The error was corrected and nobody got into trouble.He felt great because he was able to handle a tense situation and had the courage not to seek alibis. boss has had more respect for him ever since."

 Let's admit our mistakes quickly and with enthusiasm. Not only will that technique produce astonishing results; but, believe it or not, it is a lot more fun, under the circumstances, than trying to defend oneself. Remember the old proverb: "By fighting you never get enough, but by yielding you get more than you expected."