In today's high-stakes business games, not all errors are forgiven and forgotten, of course.  Some may even cost a person his or her job.  But in many cases, by taking responsibility and by solving the problem, you may navigate the troubled waters with little if any negative effect on your career.  To deny responsibility - to reflexively say, "That's not my fault!" - is almost guaranteed to infuriate everybody.

- Emily Post's The Etiquette Advantage in Business

Mistakes happen.  We've talked a lot in this blog (here, for example) about how making mistakes is a critical part of making improvements.  But sometimes, those mistakes have large ramifications or they stem not from daring to try new things, but from apathy or inability.  In all situations, no matter the reason, however, we need to step in and take responsibility immediately.  To help, here are six steps inspired by this website created to teach children responsibility (and let's be honest, it's a lesson we, as adults, can continue to learn).