I made an $800,000 mistake at my job. It taught me what good bosses do when an employee screws up.

Alex Levin, CEO of Regal Courtesy of Regal A few years ago, Alex Levin said he misspent $800,000 on an ad campaign for a former employer. Now a startup CEO, he credits the experience for teaching him how to react when a team member flubs. Punishing workers for making a mistake can discourage them from taking risks, Levin said. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Alex Levin, cofounder and CEO of Regal, a New York-based maker of AI agents for customer experience. Previously,...