It’s Okay To Fail, But . . .
Have you heard of the new film John Carter? Based on a story by Tarzan author Edgar Rice Burroughs, it opened this past weekend to disastrous results. The New York Times described the film as “a Big Budget Debacle That No One Could Stop.”
At an estimated cost of $350 million, the John Carter story contrasts sharply with a message we heard loud and clear just a few weeks ago.
It’s okay to fail. But fail quickly – and inexpensively. Learn from your mistakes, fix them, and move ahead on the right track.
That message was a recurring theme at an off-site senior leadership meeting we facilitated for one of our clients. And it’s a message that has continued to resonate with us.
In today’s fast-paced and intensely competitive business environment, the speed of innovation is more important than ever – and may provide the only sustainable competitive advantage.
There’s nothing new about the need to innovate more quickly. It’s been 30 years since Tom Peters and Bob Waterman wrote In Search of Excellence and popularized the expression “Ready. Fire! Aim.” Yet The Elkind Group continues to see many companies that hesitate to try new approaches to sales or service – even when it’s clear that their old approaches are failing to deliver the desired results.
No matter what business you’re in, there are many ways to move beyond analysis paralysis and drive innovation more quickly. For example, one of our clients needed to substantially reduce the time required to develop and deliver a new sales training program. We were able to accomplish this goal by moving directly from a training design plan to a series of pilot tests. The result was a program that met their needs in less than half the time – and at a much lower cost – than they would have achieved with their usual design and development process.
There are always risks associated with trying something new. But the risks of not innovating are even greater. It’s okay to fail. But fail quickly – and inexpensively.
As a leader, what are you doing to drive innovation and accelerate the pace of change in your business? How are you helping your front-line employees to seek – and to find – new ways to connect your customers with the products and services that meet their needs?