Prepare to Move Forward Through Mistakes

Set a Data Backup Schedule

Everyone makes mistakes, and you or your coworkers may sometimes delete or change something in your Insightly CRM in error. While Insightly makes backups of our entire system, there’s no way we can know if a change made by a user was intentional or not, so these incremental changes cannot be restored. (That’s why you’ll see a big, red “Are you sure you want to delete this?!” message.) Just like making scheduled backups of your computer’s files, regularly backing up your main Insightly records by exporting to CSV files helps protect you from losing information if someone makes a mistake.

With a recent copy of your records at hand, you can restore information to your account through the import process. The export and import links are available in the right sidebar of each main Insightly tab. The export selections for contacts, opportunities, organizations, leads, and projects will email you a CSV file for each of those record types. The tasks page will email you the items you’ve selected from the View filter, so be sure you select All Tasks. Add a recurring item on your calendar to prompt you to perform the backups or set up a repeating task in Insightly with a reminder. Clicking through the export links only takes a minute or two, and you’ll find it time well spent if you ever need to fix an unintended deletion or edit.

Accept That Mistakes Will Happen

“It’s important to be willing to make mistakes. The worst thing that can happen is you become memorable.”
–Sara Blakely

In business, mistakes happen. Common mistakes when starting a business might be avoidable, but they’re “common” for many reasons. Some entrepreneurs ignore advice and charge forward, thinking, “That will never happen to us.” And some managers don’t know about the pitfalls that await them. While every business is different, knowing about the most common slip-ups can help you prevent them. Nonetheless, when you or your coworkers do make mistakes, accept they happened, learn from them, and help your staff learn—you’ll all be better for it. After all, you can’t go back in time.

With this reality in mind, create back-up plans and safety nets to protect your business and your data. Work through any errors that do occur to determine their causes and how they might be prevented in the future. If you made the mistake, own up to it right away and share the results of your analysis with your entire team so that everyone can learn from it. If someone is making mistakes repeatedly or, even worse, making the same mistake over and over, then you’ll need to look into why this is happening. But being aware and accepting of the fact that mistakes will happen will help you go easier on yourself and your staff as you continually improve your processes. Any other way will just stifle your workplace and the flow of your business.

Always Move Forward Through Mistakes… and Success

“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything.”
-John Wooden

When you make a mistake, it doesn’t mean it’s time to throw in the towel. The same is true when you reach a successful point in your life: Why rest on your laurels when you can continue to learn and grow? Life is about living and moving forward, not about staying still.

Some mistakes can certainly be prevented, so heed advice, especially if you hear it
repeated often. And when you do stumble, translate that experience into a learning opportunity. Step up, make changes, and work with others who can help you chart a new course. If you need assistance, try various ways to get the support you need and get the perspectives of others. Keep all you’ve learned in mind as you continue to move forward, because it’s easy to slip backward when you’re accomplishing something. Most of all, when you do make an error, give yourself a break. Every human being makes mistakes; it’s how we recover from them that makes the difference.