Imperfect Action Strikes Again

Dec 20

Confessions of an Blog Killer and Accidental Spammer

I don’t like bothering my web designer for small things.

You see, my background is in Information Technology.  Nearly a decade ago, I was a web developer for about a minute.  Adding an RSS Feed button shouldn’t be a big deal for someone with my vast experience with HTML coding, and so, I added that myself.  I didn’t like what the About this Place said on the side bar, so I changed that, too.  I didn’t like the paragraph color, so I changed that in my style sheet, too (in production, without taking a backup).  All was well, until I got a call from Jeremy McKane, my web developer, “What did you do to your blog!”

But it looked so good in Firefox.  What could he possibly mean?  I had no idea that my blog had said {end if} to the Internet Explorer world for the last week.

Poor Jeremy spent hours trying to figure out what I had done.  I’d updated files.  I’d posted on the blog.  As it turns out, it was the cutting and pasting in ot my blog posts from Word that was doing me in. (Ironic that non-Microsoft product could figure it out and post the page correctly, yes?).  Sadly, the subscribe buttons are gone again.  Good news, I didn’t break it by altering the HTML in Notepad, so I’ll just add those back myself. Hehehe.

All was well at team Jacobs….until I spammed 1300 people from my new list service.

I have a great article about closing out 2008 and starting 2009 so that you can see better success next year in my inaugural e-zine, and I really, really, really wanted to get it out to my friends, networking buddies, and clients before everyone left for the holdays so they’d have time to do the exercise before the first of the year.  I wanted to send out an e-holiday card, too.  Unfortunately, I don’t understand the ins-and-outs of my list service, and when they approved my mailing list, that sent the message out the door…. one that said “Success! You have registered for my event.”  Oooops!

In retrospect, I should have outsourced this to someone who knew what they were doing.  This is what I would have told my any of my entrepreneur clients to do.  But, I still like to think that I am tech-savvy, and it is a coat that doesn’t fit anymore.  The covers were ripped off yesterday exposing a not-that-technical, not-always-perfect Personal and Business Results Coach.

My first instinct was to hide until it all blew over, but that’s not who I am these days.  I am an Inimitable Leader™, and as such, I take responsibility for the mistakes I make.

I sent out an apology to the entire list explaining what had happened.  Most people were wonderful, forgiving, and kind, and to those 4 of you who complained about the second spam, rest assured, your email has been removed.  Some old friends were just happy to hear from me – it had been too long.  I am grateful for having these people in my life, and one of my goals in 2009 is to keep in better contact with them.

And, guess what.  I didn’t shrivel up and die.  In that first hour, I was embarrassed and worried that I’ve lost face with people who respect me.  I was disappointed that I’d made this huge mistake launching my Brain-Based Coaching e-zine.  I’m over it.  The bottom line is that I produce excellent results for my clients, and my worth is not tied up in whether I can figure out the list service.  They don’t care as long as they’re getting results without my filling up their inboxes with junk.

Often, people don’t take action in their lives because they’re afraid it’ll be the wrong action.  They are afraid they’ll fail or look stupid. It isn’t the end of the world, and in some respects, this “failure” turned out better than I expected when I first realized what I’d done.

Leaders take action towards their goals.

The important thing is to taking consistent, intentional action in your lives and careers, one step at at a time toward the VISION and YOU that you’re creating.   Sometimes that action is imperfect.  Inimitable Leaders™ suck it up, fix it if they can, and take the next step.

Love and light,

Carolann

p.s. – Please, no one tell my husband that I have realized I am not perfect.  It would ruin his image of me.

p.p.s. – I’ve posted my e-zine here.

p.p.s. – Are you hanging onto an image of yourself that doesn’t fit you anymore?   Have you had an embarrassing experience that’s turned out better than you expected?  Post a reply below.

Tags: Action Coach, Brain-based Coaching, business coach, Carolann Jacobs, coach, Extraordinary Results, facilitation, Inimitable Leadership, Inspired Workplace, Leadership, Legacy Leadership, Neuroleadership, neuroscience, Plasticity