Failing Better Is A Stupid Business Catchphrase: 3 Things You Can Do To Avoid Failing
Failing Better … what a load of nonsense.
In my world when something fails – it fails.
And, there is no glory in failing.
I had had jobs that when failing meant someone may have been killed or suffered greatly.
There is no ‘fast or better’ in any of that.
Nor is there honour in finding comfort in a cliché when the people you are responsible for are hurt economically, physically or emotionally.
When a post-mortem is conducted after the failure, and the best you can say is that at least you failed better and fast is like a child receiving a participation medal.
Failures must be analyzed to learn what went wrong so those mistakes can be avoided in the future.
Here is the thing, as the leader your plan should never be allowed to run until it fails.
When implementing any plan, you should consider the military adage: no plan survives first contact with the enemy.
There will be people, circumstances and destiny that will get in the way of your success and you.
You MUST give yourself time and space to take a strategic view of what is happening as your plan progresses.
If your team is large enough, appoint someone to manage the day-to-day operations to allow you to stay at a strategic and keep an eye out for the inevitable pitfalls and trip lines that will get in the way of success.
If you are part of a small team, it is arguably more important to be aware of because it is a challenge to be operational and strategic at the same time.
Whether leading a small or large team here are the three things you can do to avoid becoming a Fail Better case study by:
- Making sure your boss or an executive champion can help you stay strategic and focused
Click here to read more about talking to your boss
- Maintaining conversations with peers and your team so you hear and understand what they are seeing
Click here to read about talking to your people
- Taking time every day to consider how things are going and listen to your gut for warning signs that something is wrong. Then validate your feelings with data and evidence.