My big presentation to the board went wrong because of one slide

It happened two days ago during our quarterly review. I had a slide with a chart that was wrong, and the CFO called me out on it right away. I had to admit I rushed the data check and used an old file. After the meeting, I went back and fixed every single chart in the deck, even the ones I didn't use. Has anyone else had to recover from a public mistake like that, and how did you handle it?

3 comments

3 Comments

blairm7726d ago

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. The best move is exactly what you did, own it fast and fix it completely. What helped me was making a simple checklist for data sources before any big meeting. It feels awful in the moment, but most people only remember how you handled the mess up.

dianawilson26d ago

Wait, the board forgot about it by lunch? That's wild to me. Tbh if I messed up numbers in front of my whole team, they'd be talking about it for weeks. Fixing it quietly later just means they'll find out you hid it, and then you look sneaky. Owning it fast shows you have nothing to hide. Honestly, a quick fix and an apology builds way more trust than hoping people don't notice.

flores.mark26d ago

Honestly... I gotta disagree with the whole "own it fast" thing. Sometimes pointing out your own mistake just makes everyone stare at the hole in the boat instead of rowing. You could have just said the numbers were being updated and moved on. Fixing every single chart after the fact is overkill, like closing the barn door after the horse is already in the next county. The board probably forgot about it by lunch.