After a screwup, what steps can you take to rebuild your personal brand?
The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. The YEC promotes entrepreneurship as a solution to unemployment and underemployment and provides entrepreneurs with access to tools, mentorship, and resources that support each stage of their business’s development and growth.
1. Don’t Dwell on the Past
“The worst thing you can do after you or “your brand” has suffered a personal setback (e.g. public failure, integrity loss) is to dwell on it. Anything you think you’ve screwed up, you can always fix, but it’s up to you. Take action — go start something new and ignore the haters. Just start somewhere. Start a new company, or a new project. You’re your own worst enemy in these type of situations.”
Matthew Ackerson, PetoVera
2. Own Up to What Happened
3. Don’t Lose Momentum
4. Seize Your Moment to Shine
5. Keep Showing Up
“After a screwup, it’s natural to want to hide away, take some time to focus and energize. That’s often what people will expect you to do. Do the opposite and keep showing up. Be better, be bigger, be bolder. People will soon forget the screw up and focus instead on what you’ve achieved since then.”
Lea Woodward, Startup Training School
6. Frame the Situation Constructively
“It’s important to admit mistakes, but how you do so is important. Try to draw parallels to larger truths, such as, ‘We are human and we still make mistakes,’ or ‘Software is never perfect,’ etc. Then, follow up with a personalized statement: “But we learn each time and pride ourselves on never repeating past mistakes.” Reframing the context helps people understand that perfection is unrealistic.”
Kent Healy, The Uncommon Life
7. Make Up for the Mistake
8. Monitor the Media
9. Make that Phone Call
10. Ditch the Excuses
11. Readjust Your Brand
12. Assess the Damage
13. Play the Offense
“When you find something online that you don’t like about yourself, the first thought is, “How do I get rid of that?” The honest answer is, you can’t. So get on the offensive and litter the web with positive proof of your personal brand. Be consistent across all platforms and just be yourself — your personal brand will shine through.”
John Meyer, 9 Clouds
14. Own Your Mess
15. Fix It Before It Happens