When I moved to West Michigan from the south side of Chicago, it seemed like an unwritten rule for locals to share recommendations about must-try pizza places. Out of politeness and a desire to get acquainted with the neighborhood, there was a sense of obligation to venture out and later provide feedback on whether the pizza lived up to expectations. (Spoiler alert: It did not.)
We tried all the places. Some came close, like the one with the perfect crust, but not nearly enough sauce. Another spot offered pizza that resembled small loaves of bread with ingredients sparingly sprinkled on top. And then there was the puzzling choice of arbitrarily adding pineapple as a topping, justified by the server explaining “most people order pineapple with ham.” We all make mistakes.
In each chapter of my quest for the perfect pizza, well-intentioned individuals steered me toward professional pizza makers who undoubtedly meant no harm to me or my family. But if that were the case, why was the pizza disappointing? I settled on the thought that they may never have had great pizza.
As I grow older, it becomes easier to identify and reflect upon my mistakes. I have made plenty of them, but the earliest ones are the most vivid in my memory. I can now share wisdom through anecdotes based on ridiculous events from my past, partly (even mostly) because they are in the past.
It is worth noting that I did not necessarily view those experiences as mistakes when they occurred. This includes clinical decision-making, interactions with coworkers, and choices about professional development among other topics. The biggest challenge most days is recognizing, admitting and actively addressing the mistakes I am currently making.
To learn from a mistake, two elements are essential. First, it requires humility to acknowledge that the way you approach a task may not be the best, even if the result is close to your expectations. Arrogance and an inflated sense of excellence were barriers to my personal and professional growth. Is your treatment approach good, but getting stale? What can you add (or remove) to improve it? Like a pizza with an excellent crust, the tendency is strong to bask in praise for the positive without acknowledging the need for more sauce.
The second element is perspective. Feedback from individuals whose experiences mirror our own solidifies local biases. Sometimes we treat with our dogma. Sometimes we take another spine course because we love treating backs when we might actually need a shoulder course to round out our skill set. We assume approaches based on similar previous interactions. Are we avoiding conversations with peers or coworkers because they’ve always been avoided? We commit the sacrilege of putting pineapple on pizza because it’s what people have always done in a particular place.
Embracing humility and seeking diverse perspectives are not only in the context of good pizza but also in life. We must invite criticism and seek ways to improve by engaging with individuals whose backgrounds, experiences and ways of life differ from ours. A partner like Alliance PTP can connect you with people doing exceptional work and who care deeply about the quality of the product they deliver.
Try new things. Trust the feedback of others. Refine your recipe. Don’t just be comparatively good in terms of local competition. Deliver something genuinely exceptional.