If you missed the Oscars last night, you missed one of the most memorable moments in the 89-year history of the Academy Awards. As Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty took stage to announce Best Picture, they declared "La La Land" as the winner over "Moonlight," not realizing it was a mistake.
But how that mistake was corrected can provide a great lesson for many offices and businesses.
"They read the wrong envelope," the stage manager said.
After some moments of confusion and embarrassment on air, "La La Land" congratulated "Moonlight" on their win with excitement and confusion.
"I think everyone's in a state of confusion still ... everyone is just so excited for 'Moonlight.' It's such an incredible film," said Emma Stone, who won Best Actress for "La La Land."
The Academy eventually sent out an apology on behalf of the accounting firm that tallies the Oscar votes, stating that they sincerely apologized to "Moonlight," "La La Land," the announcers and viewers for the mistake that was made.
"The presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope and when discovered, was immediately corrected," the apology read. "We are currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred. We appreciate the grace with which the nominees, the Academy and Jimmy Kimmel handled the situation."
Despite the mishap, the resolution was handled with great poise — which can provide a good lesson for handling mistakes made in any office environment. No matter whether you're feeling embarrassed or ashamed of what may have occurred, there are four easy steps to follow to ensure you can move on after messing up in the workplace:
1. It's natural to feel upset, but don't let it last forever. Try to release those pent-up emotions in a healthier manner and as quickly as possible. You can do this by going to the gym, taking a short walk outside to get some fresh air or talking with someone to give you a sense of perspective.
2. Acknowledge the mistake and move on. Most likely, the mishap isn't a life-or-death situation, so most can be resolved right away. Don't explain excuses or justifications. Your co-workers are probably busy with something else and have already forgotten about the little mishap on your end. Just remember that apologies are great, but you don't want to overdo it.
3. Plan for next time. Evaluate what went wrong during the mishap and plan accordingly so it doesn't occur again. If you feel that it's beneficial to tell your manager about how you plan to prevent the mistakes in the future, go ahead and do so. That said, it's not mandatory.
4. Keep up the hard work. Deliver great work and you'll earn the trust and respect back from the individuals who were affected by your mistake. You can fail, which is fine. But you can also reinvent yourself from the mistake, move past it and create the work life you had before.
No matter what, one mistake — even a big one — doesn't have to disrupt your entire life or career. The Academy handled the events with some confusion — but mainly poise — and you can do the same. We're human, so we all make mistakes. It's up to you to pick yourself back up from it and be able to move on.
