1. Learn from your mistakes
The worst mistake is to make the same mistake twice. Analyse what goes wrong, make notes and ensure you get it right in future.
2. Mistake minimisation
a) Think ahead. Planning is the key to minimising mistakes. Anticipate all eventualities and make plans to cover yourself.
b) Don’t be over-confident. Many managers are so certain that everything’s OK that they never prepare for the unexpected.
c) Guard against carelessness. It can destroy project and damage reputation. Check facts and figures in reports, letters or memos, and get others to check also.
d) Don’t tolerate laziness. All com-panies have lazy people. Many may be that way because they’ve been given the wrong leadership, insufficient supervision or poorly-defined role.
e) Take stand on incompetence. “Dropped catches lose matches” they say in sporting circles, and dropped catch in the workplace can also lead to disaster. Refine your staff selection processes, monitor and improve performance and encourage training to increase standards.
f) Be disciplined when delegating. poorly delegated job can have disastrous outcome, so ensure you select the right person for the task, conduct thorough briefing, train as required, hand over authority and monitor appropriately.
g) Supervise, supervise, supervise.
Remember:
* If anything can go wrong it will.
* Nothing is as easy as it first looks.
* Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.
Agri experts warn New Zealand’s food and fibre future could arrive by default rather than by design
Management Editorial Team
June 24, 2026
Despite near universal optimism in the rural sector, a panel of New Zealand’s leading food and agri minds say the sector must be intentional about its future path if it’s to successfully navigate the social, economic, environmental and technological forces impacting its operating environment.
