Science of persuasion: Learning from mistakes

How can managers best profit from past mistakes? This is a question asked in an essay by my colleague, Professor Robert Cialdini. He was responding to a study published in the journal American Psychologist in 2007, which concluded that a history of setbacks, losses or hardships – if handled constructively – doesn’t necessarily lead to downbeat and damaged personalities, but often to upbeat, healthy and confident ones.

The key phrase here is ‘if handled constructively’. In his essay, Professor Cialdini explored two approaches to handling previous mistakes and errors constructively and turning them into payoffs. First, use mistakes as guides to improvement. Second, use them as opportunities to be more influential and persuasive.

Michael Frese of the University of Giessen in Germany has a novel approach to training – one that runs counter to conventional methods that suppress mistakes and direct trainees through an error-free learning environment. Frese’s approach is called Error Management Training (EMT).

Error-free learning methods have always seemed productive because mistakes can disrupt workflow, be time consuming to fix and can frustrate not just trainees, but also trainers. Errors and mistakes also do little to promote confidence in a trainee’s abilities. But a review of the results of 24 separate studies found the EMT model superior to the traditional, error-avoidance approaches to training.

There are two necessary components to EMT. The first involves urging trainees to actively explore tasks to be learned in order to encounter mistakes and recognise where and how they occur. The second involves instruction on how best to react, psychologically, once an error is made. Professor Cialdini reports that encouraging words from managers such as “Errors are a natural part of the learning process” and “The more errors you make, the more you learn” do much to foster positive reactions. It is this second element that is crucial because, without it, mistakes are seen as defeats rather than signposts to success.

This seems like a good strategy for those learning new tasks, but what happens when the goal changes from how to train for job responsibilities to how to execute responsibilities once an individual has been on the job for a while? In this case, the first component of EMT – looking for chances to make mistakes – is far from a winning game plan. This could cost money, time, resources and even customers.

However, the second component – thinking of and responding to mistakes as learning opportunities – still provides a professional advantage to leaders and managers. If, instead of being an error hunter, you position yourself as an error opportunist, who looks to cash in on any unintended stumble by your team and help them learn from it, then your organisation could profit handsomely in the long run.

Smoke and mirrors

A classsic example is the shock of the CEO of a global hotel chain after he reviewed the results of a very costly ‘seamless customer experience’ programme. 

It wasn’t guests with a seamless stay who reported the highest satisfaction ratings – it was the customers who experienced a service problem that was immediately put right by the hotel staff that gave the service the highest rating. Guests who know that the organisation can fix mistakes tend to be more confident that the same will be true in any future dealings. Subsequently, their satisfaction levels should be high.

But maybe another factor is at work here, one explained by a deeper understanding of the persuasion process. Fixing mistakes quickly and efficiently may well be perceived by guests as ‘special assistance’; something the hotel has gone out of its way to provide. By virtue of the rule for reciprocation, the hotel then becomes deserving of something in return in the form of superior ratings and loyalty.

Professor Cialdini cites an excellent example of this reciprocity in action. While speaking at a conference, the hotel’s general manager related an recent incident. A guest wanted to play tennis with her children, but the two junior racquets were already in use. So, the manager sent a member of staff to a local sports shop to buy another pair, and delivered them to the guest within 20 minutes. The reaction was very positive and the mother re-booked the extended family into the resort for their next weekend break. Had the resort stocked those additional children’s racquets – in order to give its guests a ‘seamless experience’ – their availability would not have been seen as exceptional service that called for loyalty in return.

What’s the implication for you as a manager? Is it to manufacture thin spots in the ice for clients or co-workers to fall through so you can be there to help them? Of course not, that would lead to the perception that dealing with you often requires some form of rescue. Much more preferable is the simple recognition that modern business is too complex to be error-free. The key is recognising that directing resources towards the goal of preventing mistakes is likely to be less effective than directing resources to the goal of resolving problems quickly.

I’m not implying that quality control is not important. However, it’s a fool’s errand to chase performance perfection, as it means different things to different people and can’t be pre-arranged. Error correction, on the other hand, can be customised after the fact. In doing so, those that manage errors effectively enjoy a unique moment of influence. In short, problem-free may not be as effective in business as a problem freed.