Dear Bob ... I'm new to the company I'm now working for. Recently, I was invited to a meeting whose subject was closely related to my area of responsibility. Wanting to impress my new colleagues, I prepared an analysis and at an opportune time passed it around. At which point the CEO and CFO shot enough holes in it to sink a destroyer. They were right, and they weren't mean about it. The fact of the matter is, m Dear Bob …I’m new to the company I’m now working for. Recently, I was invited to a meeting whose subject was closely related to my area of responsibility. Wanting to impress my new colleagues, I prepared an analysis and at an opportune time passed it around.At which point the CEO and CFO shot enough holes in it to sink a destroyer. They were right, and they weren’t mean about it. The fact of the matter is, my analysis included several wrong assumptions and misunderstandings.My question is what I can do to regain my credibility.– Goofed Dear Goofed …The first step in regaining your lost credibility is to do what you should have done in the first place: Keep your mouth shut and your ears and mind open. Usually, people who listen sound much more intelligent than those who speak; those who ask questions almost always sound more perceptive than those who give answers.That’s the social dimension. The logical one is what you’ve already discovered: The Devil is in the details, which you need time to master. Now is when you get to do it without the press of a full workload. Take advantage of it. What else can you do? Wry, self-deprecating humor can go a long way in this kind of situation. Before you can restore your credibility you have to make everyone comfortable with you again. It’s up to you to make it okay to chuckle over your gaffe, instead of looking at you sideways like someone who used the wrong fork.And finally, the next time you are called upon to prepare an analysis, ask the CFO to go over it with you before you distribute it to a wider audience (but not the CEO, who shouldn’t be involved at that level). That establishes you as someone who values a cross-check. It also helps gain you an ally in the meeting – someone who can tell the group that this time you’re worth paying attention to.Everyone is allowed a mistake – even a newcomer. Too bad you squandered it so early in the game. But it isn’t a career killer. Keep your head up, and show that you have the self-confidence to not worry about it. – Bob Technology Industry