Leadership Tip:

Fail More, Fail Better, Fail Faster

Almost all leaders try to avoid failure. Or should I say, all but the best leaders try to avoid failure. The best leaders I have coached shared a different approach. They act on the leadership tip: Fail More, Fail Better, Fail Faster.

Surely that is the worst leadership tip you have ever heard! Perhaps. Let’s see.

How much time does your company spend on market researching, analysing, committee discussions, planning?

Highly effective leaders look at that amount of time, and say words to the effect of: “By the time you’ve done that, I could have pilot tested 10 times over!”

And the cautious, failure averse manager says: “But what if it fails?”

The capable leader says: “Good! Then we will have real-life information rather than committee speculation.”

And the cautious manager quivers: “But it could cost us a lot of money, if it fails.”

Capable leader replies: “It will cost a lot more to have unending, highly paid bodies sitting around however many tables, for goodness knows how long, doing however many runs of whatever number of models and spread sheets, and at the end of all that massive cost, all we will have is highly informed speculation.”

Cautious Jo replies: “Surely well-informed speculation is the best way to start any project, if we want to avoid egg on our faces.”

Leaderus Capabalus retortus: “And that’s why you get such poor results, endless analysis and planning and conjecture, when a rough and ready pilot test would give you 100 times more real-world information from real-life customers making real-time decisions.

“By the time you have painfully created one plan, I have tested 10. By the time you have failed once, I have failed 100 times and have a priceless asset that can only be obtained by taking action: real world market feedback.”

Jobs-worth manager says: “But when you fail your job is at risk.”

Brave leader replies: “That attitude is guaranteed to cause the ultimate failure, failure of the business.
“Look. Here is how you do it.
“Fail more, learn more.
“Fail better, meaning properly test what you want to offer, learn more about how to improve what you offer.
“Fail faster, get it right faster.
“While you and countless other paralytic analytics are speculating about market information, I have gathered vast quantities of real information and am using it.”

Paralytic analytic starts: “But, what if…”

Effective leader cuts across: “Each time you challenge me, you prove my point.
“Stop talking! Stop analysing! Follow this leadership tip: Fail More, Fail Better, Fail Faster.
“Take action.
“Action gets feedback.
“Feedback gives you what you need to get results: real-life, real-time, market information.
“Most of the time that chain involves one failure after another until you make it work.”

Analytic paralytic: “But…”

Running Bull Leader: “But… but… but… Buts generated sitting on butts DON’T GET RESULTS!
“Go out and Fail More, Fail Better, Fail Faster. Take action.
“Action gets feedback.
“Feedback gives you what you need to get results. No number of buts or butts will change that.”

If you want to achieve better results as a leader…

Follow this leadership tip: Fail More, Fail Better, Fail Faster.
Take action.
Action gets feedback.
Feedback gives you what you need to get results.
Most of the time that chain involves one failure after another until you make it work.

That’s easy to say. Everybody knows they should take action, but they don’t.

The challenge for most people is HOW to get themselves to take action!

If you are one of the vast majority who finds it tough to take action. This might help.

 “If IFs and ANDs were pots and pans
  There’d be no tramps and tinkers.” Scottish Proverb

Will today be yet another day of “IFs and ANDs,” or, will you take action? 

You have wanted to take action, you want to take action, but you haven’t, you don’t. 

Why?

Something was and is missing. What is that something?

The right support; the right techniques; the right motivation.

If you get the support, the techniques and the motivation you need, today can be THE day. The day you take action that realises your dreams.

Where can you get that support?

Perhaps a coach would help? Not an ordinary coach; everyone and his/her dog claims to be a coach these days after a weekend or two of “training.”

Choose an extraordinary coach, someone who has been successfully coaching for decades, someone to inspire you to take action; the right action; with the right techniques; the motivation, techniques and action necessary to get results… results that add massive value…

You can have all that… OR there is no fee. (Yes, you read correctly.)

Would you like THAT level of support?

Would you like risk-free support where you achieve your desired results or there is no fee?

You can have it.

Will today be THE DAY you take action?

Or, will yet another of your tomorrows be filled with IFs and ANDs?  Your call.

Click here to take action. Contact PsyPerform.

Prof Nigel MacLennan

Copyright PsyPerform 2016