Have you ever made a mistake? Assuming you are like most mortals, then you must have made a few. Though probably not as many as me.

Yet, judging from my boss’s reaction the other day, making a mistake is not only unforgivable, it is deserving of the death penalty. And what was the heinous crime that inspired her wrath? A press release was sent out a day early.

You can imagine the repercussions. A trade publication went live with “sensitive” client information on its website a day before the client wanted it to. The first I knew about this was when I got a hysterical call from my boss at 7am on Saturday morning. I was instructed to get the news-in-brief item (yes, it was THAT important), removed from the magazine’s website at once! As it was the weekend, this was impossible. Though I did put in an apologetic call to a friend who worked at the magazine, who confirmed that nothing could be done until Monday.

My boss was frantic because the client was having a fit. All because he was going to explain to his board that information (that no one outside the business really cared about), had been published early. This was such a terrible blow to the firm, apparently, that it was seriously considering firing us as an agency.

Who cares? It’s not life or death.

So when the shit hits the fan, here’s my advice:

1. Take a chill pill. Valium is my preferred brand.

2. Ask yourself, “who’s died?”. If no one has, then tell everyone involved to get some perspective.

3. Don’t point your finger. Even if one person is ultimately responsible, this only means they are human, not that they deserve to be fired.

4. Don’t rush to apologise. If you are the first to say “sorry”, everyone will quickly heap all the blame on to you.

5. Get a proper job. One where mistakes really do matter, and then you can justifiably feel some concern.