Have you ever sent out a report, only to realize later that there’s a tiny mistake in the query? I think we’ve all been there. The question is, what do you do when you spot that error? Do you let it slide, hoping no one will notice, or do you own up to it and correct the mistake?
I recently came across a Reddit post from someone who’s faced this dilemma. They’d sent out a report to another team, only to discover a small error in the query. The good news was that the corrected output didn’t change the insights significantly, but it did affect the counts. The question was, should they let it go or bring it to the stakeholders’ attention?
In this case, the mistake wasn’t a huge deal, but it got me thinking. How often do we realize we’ve made a tiny mistake in a query, and what’s the best way to handle it? Do we risk looking careless or incompetent by owning up to the error, or do we risk being found out and losing credibility if we don’t?
I think the answer lies in the context. If the mistake is insignificant and doesn’t affect the overall outcome, it might be okay to let it slide. But if the error could have a significant impact on the decisions being made, it’s always better to come clean and correct the mistake.
What do you think? How do you handle tiny mistakes in your queries? Do you have a process in place for double-checking your work, or do you rely on others to catch any errors?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!