A project manager missed a launch deadline by days, causing a $20-30 million billing error on COVID-19 tests sold to Medicare. Luke Murray talks through the mistake and its emotional toll, reminding them that errors don't define their worth and that taking time to reset matters.
Let's just imagine it's like a $20, $30 million mistake that you made as a 21-year-old, or you think that you've made.
Yes.
What do you remember from that conversation?
So we were doing COVID tests on-site, and then there was also an opportunity to, like, kind of sell DTC, direct-to-consumer COVID tests online to Medicare beneficiaries. We had a stock supply of COVID tests. Our on-site was kind of dwindling down. So we thought this was a great way to kind of get rid of our stock and service people.
Yep.
And so I became project manager of that project, and we had a very ambitious goal. And I remember there was a specific deadline to either launch or, like, hold orders or something. I can't really remember the specifics. And I got that deadline wrong. So it was, like, 2 or 3 days off that I, like, held the billing, and it was wrong.
Okay, okay. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
I remember, like, feeling that weight because you were very direct of, like, this is the gravity of it. And I think that was— good because I needed to realize what the weight actually was. But then the bad part, which I did to myself, was like fully blame myself. And like I took all that responsibility.
Yeah.
And I, that was like the first time that I made like that big of a mistake and I was just, I lost it. You called me after a meeting and I was like mid mental breakdown. Mid breakdown, okay.
Yeah.
And I picked up the phone, I was like, hello? And you're like, What's wrong? I'm like, I'm so sorry. Like, I messed up. Like, I really can't get over this. I'm like, really, like, not okay. And you just sat there and like talked me through my emotions of like, yeah, you messed up, you did. But it's not just your fault. Like, let's walk through the like, why are you feeling this way? Like, why are you placing all the blame on yourself? And help me like calm down and realize that like, yeah, people make mistakes all the time. This is a big one, but it's not the end of the world and it's not a representation of like who you are. And it's probably gonna happen again. And then I remember you were like, don't work the rest of the day. Like, as your boss, I don't wanna see you online. And normally I think I lean towards that, but I was in such this like overwhelmed, like stimulated state that like, any decisions made thereafter wouldn't have been sound. So that choice to be like, I don't wanna see you online, like take off. And it was a Friday, so I just needed a moment. Was helpful to realize like, nobody hates me. Like, it's okay, even though it was a $30 million.
What I say. Yeah.
