Taking responsibility for work that is not your fault

Seth Godin argues in his post "Responsibility, fault, blame and shame" that responsibility, fault, blame, and shame are four separate things, and that adults take responsibility for outcomes even when the cause was not theirs. He adds that shame is the destructive force in that group and that it can be declined.

A seller of printables can apply this by treating a slow month or a failed listing as something to own rather than explain away, then adjusting the product line in response. A planner maker whose spring-themed journal did not sell can rebuild the same interior around a summer theme and relaunch it under a new cover, which turns a disappointing result into a second product without blaming the market.