Be willing to apologize. Proper apologies have three parts: 1) What I did was wrong. 2) I'm sorry that I hurt you. 3) How do I make it better? It's the third part that people tend to forget. Apologize when you screw up and focus on other people, not on yourself.
Randy PauschIf I could only give three words of advice, they would be, 'Tell the truth.' If I got three more words, I'd add: 'All the time.'
Randy Pausch