I still remember the day my manager Julie Shriver (RIP) hit me with that line when I was a Design Director at Wells Fargo. One of my peers did something so mind-blowingly wrong that it caused DAYS of rework for my entire team. I was fuming! How could he?!

I stormed into her office, vented, and what did she say?

“No one comes to work to F*** Up!”

She didn’t just say it once—she repeated it over and over.

At first, I didn’t want to hear it, but she was right! People don’t show up to work thinking, “How can I mess things up today?” My colleague was mortified that his mistake caused such a mess.

Sure, my team and I had to dig out of that hole, but that experience still sticks with me.

So, next time someone drops the ball, remember: “No one comes to work to F*** Up!”

• Give them the benefit of the doubt.

• Cut them some slack.

• People generally want to do a good job.

• They’re probably doing the best they can with what they have.

• Once you’ve cooled down, think about what could’ve been done to prevent the situation.

• And ask yourself, honestly, “Were they set up for success?”