While it may not be fun at the time, it’s important for leaders to get good at accepting failure on the job. Understanding what’s not working and making adjustments is a smart and potentially profitable skill. This is critical during challenging times, as you need to focus your time and energy where they will make the most impact.
It’s not easy to admit that a plan or strategy is not going as planned. But failure can happen to some of the biggest companies. Remember when tech giant, Google introduced Google+
This was supposed to have been the tech giant’s big splash into the world of social media. Google+ had the advantage of being connected to popular properties like YouTube and being part of the massive Google search network. How could it fail?
With all that it had going for it, Google+ never connected with people, like other social media platforms. Over time, Google executives made Google+ less of a priority and eventually shut it down.
In your business, while your challenges may not be as big as Google’s, you need to embrace accepting failure on the job. Use these tips to help with the process:
Accept the Reality
Emotional attachment can hold a lot of power over facts. Your great idea may be failing and yet, you don’t want to let go.
Mentally step back and review the facts. If the strategy was from a colleague or friend, what would you tell them? That’s the advice you probably need to follow.
A lot of smart people were part of Google+ and yet, the platform was not a success.
Courage to Change
While I don’t know a lot of Turkish proverbs, I know one that says, “No matter how far you’ve gone down the wrong road, turn back.” This is an important lesson, as we tend to hold onto ideas because we’ve invested a lot of time in them.
It’s easy to keep doing what you’re doing, even if it’s not providing the desired results. It takes courage to change course.
Accepting Failure Needs a Postmortem
Sometimes when a plan goes wrong, we tend to throw it away quickly, like a piece of wadded paper into the trash. Before you let go, take a few minutes to see if you can figure out why you didn’t reach your desired outcome.
Did a wildcard factor, like bad weather, doom your success? This review process is not so much about blame but figuring out what went wrong, so you can avoid similar problems in the future.
The knowledge from today’s expensive lesson could prevent even bigger problems down the road. And you may have been really close to success.
Success is a Funny Thing
It’s not easy to accept but some of the best plans simply don’t work. And on paper, everything may have looked flawless.
Realize that sometimes success or failure is based on random things, like luck. You can’t control these things and they can exert a lot of control over you and your business.
Ken Okel Performs Virtual Keynotes Too
