Thank the person who catches your mistake before it becomes someone else’s problem.

A caught error is a gift in awkward wrapping. The first feeling is usually embarrassment, and thanks arrive late if at all, which quietly teaches the person who spoke up to say nothing next time. What they actually did was absorb a small cost so that you would not pay a larger one in front of more people.

When somebody flags something you got wrong this week, lead with the thanks before the explanation. Fix it, say it is fixed, and leave your reasons out of it.