Re-Do

I've been very busy this week.  I've been working on some designs for a client's website and also have begun a mural in the entry way of a local business.  When I catch a few minutes in the shop at the end of the day, I've been doing some work on R2.

I spent some time this week fixing a couple small problems on the droid.  A fellow R2 builder pointed out that one of my vents was wrong.  I saw that he was right, and re-carved the upper vent.  I also carved the little blue utility arms and some curved pieces that attach to the bottom of the legs.

Today I did some more priming and a little painting.  He's looking more familiar all the time.

I've been thinking about my mistake and the guy who pointed it out.  He was very nice about how he explained the error and showed an example of how it should look. Truthfully, I should have caught it.  In turn, I quickly realized he was right and thanked him for the catch.  I wasted no time fretting over the error, but quickly moved to correct it.  It was a small thing, and many people wouldn't notice that it was wrong, but I wanted it right.  In a very short time, the mistake was corrected and I realized I needed to make sure that each piece I made matched with the original.  I had simply assumed they were both the same.  By checking each piece against the thousands of images online, the chances of a repeat mistake are lowered substantially.  In fact, it could have been something much more challenging to fix.  The mistake will have been useful.  I checked to be sure the two blue utility arms matched before I carved two of them. Potential mistake averted.



I thought back to my previous job and how much effort was spent all around that company trying to hide and/or cover mistakes.  Much of the corporate world is very wasteful and inefficient. I thought about the amount of time put in by many employees (including myself) trying to prove they hadn't made a mistake or that it wasn't their fault.  Worse, entire meetings were dominated by a mistake and processes were built in an attempt to ensure a similar mistake didn't happen.  Whole departments would be given new instructions regularly to add more redundant and often ridiculous processes that would prove we were trying to reduce mistakes.  You see, the corporate world in general sees the formula like this: Mistakes = lost profit.  That formula works...but not always.

Development of something new, or learning a new skill is a different beast.  Once you know how to make a pizza, and have made a few...the number of mistakes should be pretty low. On the other hand, inventing a whole new form of pizza- one that's never existed...not so simple. Mistakes, in this case, are the stepping stones to success.  We learn by practice and repetition.  We come to understand the process that will work. I know that were I to build a second R2D2, there would be fewer mistakes than I've made on this one...and a third unit would likely be even more error free.  Additionally, mistakes sometimes lead to something wonderful.  A mistake while trying to invent Super-Glue led to the invention of the Post-It note.  So my advice is this: Don't be afraid of mistakes. Don't be afraid to own them. I'm not suggesting you go out with the goal of making mistakes, I'm just saying that you have the most potential to learn from them. Use it.