Something important happened with my last OpEd for The Stable. If you were quick, you’d have noticed some glaring typos. Some of my super smart, wordsmithing friends caught the errors before they were in wide circulation. And the fabulous editor updated the copy in a blink. [“Fabulous” editor didn’t notice them either and was/is still feeling humbled: ed]

But it’s not a good look for a professional writer, right?

I was tempted to beat myself up about missing three (yep, three) errors. I was certain I’d read and re-read the copy before hitting send. Even when the errors were pointed out I struggled to see one of them. I could only see what I thought was on the page – not what was actually there. I was also forced to admit to myself, it’s happened before. And my previous error got me thrown off an account.

The story goes like this.

The agency I worked for had just won a global tech account. International pitch. No real input from us. It should have been great news, but it meant we had to shed the global tech account we already had. A shame as we had a really strong relationship. Making money. Doing good work. What also became quickly apparent was our new client was also less than thrilled. They too had a productive working relationship blown up.

So, it was going to be awkward.

One of our first jobs together was an Annual Report. I can hear all the copywriters sigh from across cyberspace. Annual Reports are among the toughest briefs in any agency. You’re dealing with people on the client side who only deal with agencies once a year. Accountants. Heads of Department. CEOs. Powerful eyeballs are all over every word. I was asked to edit 10+ pages copy which were written by this cast of characters. My brief was not to make massive changes. Just make the tone consistent. Friendly it up. Give it warmth.

I was fired over a single word.

The copy I inherited included a description of the relationship the tech company had with the Federal Government. The original writer described it as “adversary”. In my haste, I read it as “advisory”. And, given the instruction not to change the content too much, I worked around it.

Big mistake.

I’ll never forget seeing our main client respond to my edit by saying; “I don’t know why we ever say that.” I read it again and still read “advisory”. The client had to spell it out for me and, eventually, the penny dropped. I apologised profusely. And corrected the copy as soon as I got back to the agency. But it wasn’t enough. They asked the account director to have me removed from the project and from the account.

Did I learn my lesson?

Clearly my last op-ed says “no”. In fact, both events have taught me to be more forgiving – of others and of myself. We all make mistakes. It’s the reason the approval process exists. Checks. Balances. Errors will happen. And, as long as it’s not deliberate or malicious, there’s nothing quite as powerful as forgiveness.

So, next time you spot a typo, go easy. It might be someone’s career on the line. Next time, it may even be yours.

(P.S. Forgive the cheap gag in the headline. It was just too tempting.)

Rob Morrison was creative director at Ogilvy Australia for seven years and before that milestone, creative director at BWM (now BWM Dentsu), George Patterson Y&R (now VMLY&R), The Campaign Palace and Wunderman. He is now freelance at morrison.creative.