Sometimes Failure Is A Good Thing (Just Ask Lincoln)
Cook
Here's a lesson we can learn from Abraham Lincoln, who had several failures previous to his accomplishments in the White House: Failure is inevitable, and a good teacher. To listen to most successful people, failure is a good thing because it can shape the path to success.
Lincoln, who would become one of our greatest presidents, failed in business and lost several elections before he was elected president in 1860, then reelected in 1864.
But unfortunately, for too many companies, avoiding failure is standard operating procedure. Whether it's fear of losing a deal, spending money without a positive return or just making a mistake, the fear of failure can permeate a culture.
When avoiding failure takes over, avoiding risk comes along with it. However, if you follow Lincoln's example and accept the fact that failure will occur, then your ability to expand your options and take some risk grows by leaps and bounds.
Failure: A Call To Action
Recognizing that failure occurs does not mean you accept it or are happy about it. When you fail, the real test is what you do from there. When you see something is going badly, stop doing it. If you're losing money on a product or service, stop offering it. If a marketing tactic is not working, stop using it. If a new strategy is producing poor results, stop implementing it.
After stopping, consider your options. You can change or modify what you were doing, or drop it completely. The option you choose usually depends on the autopsy of the failure. Look at the financial impact. The size of the loss will frequently make your choice obvious. If you missed the mark entirely, and the returns are abysmal, then dropping the approach entirely is usually a good thing. If your results indicate some level of success, but not the returns you originally wanted, then modifications might be in order.
When you consider modifications, analyze the strategy and the execution. If the strategy is appropriate and the execution is good, proceed, because you're succeeding. If the strategy is inappropriate and the execution is poor, you've got a big failure on your hands and it's probably better to just drop it altogether, and minimize your losses.
Strategy Is Not Enough
When there are mismatches, decisions can be tough. If the strategy is inappropriate, but the execution is good, you're gambling. Good execution can mitigate poor strategy, producing some level of success. Or, good execution can accelerate a poor strategy, hastening failure and bringing about its demise that much sooner.
On the flip side, if the strategy is appropriate but the execution is poor, there can be trouble. Poor execution hampers a good strategy, and management cannot assess the adequacy of a strategy if the ability to implement it is poor.
When you face a decision to modify or not modify something, begin by looking at your implementation. If there are problems with implementation, fix them. Take the time to distinguish implementation problems from strategic problems, and make sure your execution is solid. Without this, you can never determine if the strategy is sound or not. With solid execution, you can more clearly assess the strength of the strategy you've chosen by seeing it in action.
Resist A Coverup
The face you put on failure is also important. When something does go wrong, admit your mistakes. If you messed up with a customer, admit your error, apologize, and fix it. Respect the intelligence and integrity of the customer, as well as the marketplace. If you try to hide things, they will eventually find out. And when they do, their resentment will be stronger because of the deceit, not the original mistake. Any expert in crisis management will tell you that a cover-up is almost always worse than the original mistake.
Another important aspect of failure is how you deal with employees. Accept that employees will make mistakes, because they will. When a mistake occurs, have processes in place that minimize the risk of the same mistake occurring again. In other words, leverage failure to learn and train.
An Open Door To Transparency
Also, leverage failure to emphasize accountability. This is important because if no one is accountable, then inevitably, the failure will occur again.
If you believe in the sandbox wisdom that the best lessons come from mistakes you make, then failure in business should be accepted and leveraged. Failure is inevitable. But what you do with it makes all the difference.
Ken Cook is managing director of Peer to Peer Advisors and co-author of How To WHO: Selling Personified, a book and program for building business through relationships. Learn more at www.howtowho.com.
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