Eric Müller

I remember one time where we had a deadline, we had overcommitted. This is when I was actually working a mechanism and we had overcommitted. There was an expectation that the work was going to be, that we were going to get a release out that day. And everyone was willing to work till midnight. But the expectation was we're going to get the release out. And it's about two o'clock in the afternoon.

And I'm sitting at my desk. The product manager has his desk next to me. And everyone's freaking out. We're all mostly working in the office at the time. And I called everyone over to my desk with the product manager. And I looked at everyone. I remember the look on this guy's face. I looked at everyone and I said, all right, we're clearly not going to launch.

And I'm sitting at my desk. The product manager has his desk next to me. And everyone's freaking out. We're all mostly working in the office at the time. And I called everyone over to my desk with the product manager. And I looked at everyone. I remember the look on this guy's face. I looked at everyone and I said, all right, we're clearly not going to launch.

And I'm sitting at my desk. The product manager has his desk next to me. And everyone's freaking out. We're all mostly working in the office at the time. And I called everyone over to my desk with the product manager. And I looked at everyone. I remember the look on this guy's face. I looked at everyone and I said, all right, we're clearly not going to launch.

And the product manager raised his eyebrow at me. And I said, we're not doing this. We're not going to get this done. And I said, so let's just take a deep breath. Let's figure out what the problem is. How do we solve this? And we'll launch when we launch. And I was quite serious, actually. I was going to go to our boss and say, I'm sorry. We did our best then. It's on me. And it is what it is.

And the product manager raised his eyebrow at me. And I said, we're not doing this. We're not going to get this done. And I said, so let's just take a deep breath. Let's figure out what the problem is. How do we solve this? And we'll launch when we launch. And I was quite serious, actually. I was going to go to our boss and say, I'm sorry. We did our best then. It's on me. And it is what it is.

And the product manager raised his eyebrow at me. And I said, we're not doing this. We're not going to get this done. And I said, so let's just take a deep breath. Let's figure out what the problem is. How do we solve this? And we'll launch when we launch. And I was quite serious, actually. I was going to go to our boss and say, I'm sorry. We did our best then. It's on me. And it is what it is.

That moment, my willingness to say, look, I screwed up. It's on me. It's all good. It took the pressure off of them. And suddenly people are relaxed, identify the source of the problem. And we actually launched. Not every mistake or error has that kind of a happy ending. But I think the key for me in any mistake as a leader is to own it. You have to own it. You put the team together.

That moment, my willingness to say, look, I screwed up. It's on me. It's all good. It took the pressure off of them. And suddenly people are relaxed, identify the source of the problem. And we actually launched. Not every mistake or error has that kind of a happy ending. But I think the key for me in any mistake as a leader is to own it. You have to own it. You put the team together.

That moment, my willingness to say, look, I screwed up. It's on me. It's all good. It took the pressure off of them. And suddenly people are relaxed, identify the source of the problem. And we actually launched. Not every mistake or error has that kind of a happy ending. But I think the key for me in any mistake as a leader is to own it. You have to own it. You put the team together.

You made the commitments for your team. If you are in a bad situation, you let it get that far. So you got to own it. When you own it, that takes the pressure off of the team. And now you have a chance to fix it.

You made the commitments for your team. If you are in a bad situation, you let it get that far. So you got to own it. When you own it, that takes the pressure off of the team. And now you have a chance to fix it.

You made the commitments for your team. If you are in a bad situation, you let it get that far. So you got to own it. When you own it, that takes the pressure off of the team. And now you have a chance to fix it.

There was this guy by the name of Brian Gilpin years and years and years ago when I was working at Wells Fargo Bank. I was very early in my career. There was an HR situation with one of his staff members. I believe he basically put his career on the line to take care of this person. I don't remember the names of everyone I worked with from all those years ago, but Brian's name is still there.

There was this guy by the name of Brian Gilpin years and years and years ago when I was working at Wells Fargo Bank. I was very early in my career. There was an HR situation with one of his staff members. I believe he basically put his career on the line to take care of this person. I don't remember the names of everyone I worked with from all those years ago, but Brian's name is still there.

There was this guy by the name of Brian Gilpin years and years and years ago when I was working at Wells Fargo Bank. I was very early in my career. There was an HR situation with one of his staff members. I believe he basically put his career on the line to take care of this person. I don't remember the names of everyone I worked with from all those years ago, but Brian's name is still there.

That he was willing to go that extra mile to take care of this person is mind-blowing to me. To this day, it still is. And that level of commitment to his people has just stuck with me, obviously. The next person is someone by the name of Ron Lichty. We actually worked together at Charles Schwab and then he went over to Razorfish and he hired me over at Razorfish. And he has this amazing empathy.

That he was willing to go that extra mile to take care of this person is mind-blowing to me. To this day, it still is. And that level of commitment to his people has just stuck with me, obviously. The next person is someone by the name of Ron Lichty. We actually worked together at Charles Schwab and then he went over to Razorfish and he hired me over at Razorfish. And he has this amazing empathy.

That he was willing to go that extra mile to take care of this person is mind-blowing to me. To this day, it still is. And that level of commitment to his people has just stuck with me, obviously. The next person is someone by the name of Ron Lichty. We actually worked together at Charles Schwab and then he went over to Razorfish and he hired me over at Razorfish. And he has this amazing empathy.

He's an agile coach, and he helps build teams and solve problems. But the thing that really struck with me around him is his empathy for his team, his empathy for clients, for his partners. He was always calm. He always had a smile. He was a technologist. He could think through problems. And I've just always tried to bring that empathy that Ron had and that passion for the people that Brian had.