I take great pride in the interior designers that I coach. They are – like you – rock stars, for putting a stake in the ground to run an interior design business.

The common goal is to do great work; to do great things in design, and, for our clients. It’s the intent. The dream, right?

And the flip-side nightmare is when a project runs off the rails.

Particularly unnerving for people like us – Creative Brains running high-pressure, high-detail design businesses – Project Problem Management puts us into our reactivity brain – not our powerful problem-solving brain.  But here’s the thing, my talented friend:

Even with the very best business systems and design processes in place, design is a human sport; clients are human beings; so are builders, fabricators, craftspersons and you…and humans can sometimes make a mistake.

Here’s what to do when you either see a sign of trouble brewing on a design project   – or – an out and out failure. Follow these 5 steps, and in this order, to avoid it or clean it up, and, always to make sure history never repeats itself:

The 5 steps are- Identify, Own, Solve, Address and Review.

The first 3 steps happen BEFORE you discuss it with your client, builder, vendor, or workroom.

Identify: The first thing you want to do is to identify how the problem happened; where is the breakdown and who is involved. This is not about finger pointing – this is fact gathering to include determining if the failure was in your business systems, or your project management, or elsewhere. Identify it.

Own: Mistakes are “stink-a-roo” for everyone.  If you determine you did not contribute to an error, fine – move on. And if you determined that you did – fine, then own it and move on. There is sometimes a gray zone where you could have done something a bit better, but another party had greater responsibility in the issue: meaning you might have a 10% responsibility to someone else’s 90%. Whatever it is – Identify and Own whatever needs to be owned.

Solve: Time to strategize the fix, plug up the dam, (and the damn!); trouble shoot, course correct. Brainstorm by yourself, brainstorm with your team, brainstorm with the other party bearing responsibility – internal or external team members. Stay calm. Find & agree on the path forward.

Address: Now and only now – with your excellent solution identified – it’s time to bring this to your client’s attention if it cannot or should not be fixed without alerting them. (For example.…if a table arrives at your receiver damaged, you can have the item corrected before delivery – no need to alert the media!).

But when you DO address the issue with your client, be confident, detached and professional. AND…NO editorializing.

“Something terrible happened and I’m dying over this,” is emotional and editorial. Clients want confidence, and professionalism. Not histrionics.

Alert your client of the issue, let them know about the solution you’ve worked out with the team. Done.

Review: This is the post-game wrap up. You want to ask yourself clearly: did I contribute to this issue? Was I unclear in my direction or communication? Did I or anyone on my team “drop the ball” on something?

And importantly: What new process or system do I need to put into place, so this never happens again? Yes – some of the best business processes and safeguards are born out of painful moments!

In the end, it’s not the error that counts – it’s what’s been done to correct it or avoid it entirely.

All design projects, renovations or new-builds can hit some turbulence despite your best efforts.

Since creative brains like ours tend to be “reactive” or “sensitive” when the proverbial you-know-what hits the fan – you MUST resist the temptation to get wobbly kneed. Know your reactive nature is just being triggered. That’s all. Work around it.

And if need be – use the power 10-10-10- rule to talk yourself off the ledge, which is this: “This may be a problem for another 10 minutes, but 10 months from now it’ll be in the rearview mirror – and 10 years from now – not even a memory.

You’ve got this, my friend. Now go be clear, brilliant, and confident. All in a day’s work.

Xo – d

PS. Want to end Lonely Leader Syndrome? AND build your most incredible “Profit Proud” interior design business – without the stress?

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Hugs and squeezes…xo d