Learn how to fail and look great while doing it.
When was the last time you did not succeed on the first try? What did you do? You reflected on the experience, analyzed what went wrong and tried a different method.
“Failing” happens to everyone and it is a process to help us improve ourselves. Samuel Beckett, an Irish novelist, created the term fail better. It describes that failing is a part of development processes and that we can use the results to fail less next time. It is turning failing from meaning defeat into an experience to reflect upon and something positive to celebrate.
To help you implement this mindset into your strategy development and make failing more enjoyable we collected 4 tips to help you fail better.
4 ways to fail 'much' better
1. Small iterations and short cycles
“Insanity is trying the same method over and over again, but expecting different results.” If your plan did not work out the first time you might want to change it. The best way to do that is by changing small elements each time. Small iterations make it easier to see if it makes a difference and is easier to implement. Test them in short cycles and adapt and change again.
2. Get feedback and use it
What is the easiest way to see if your strategy will work? Testing it and asking for feedback. It is important to get qualitative feedback on your product or plan to be able to adapt early enough. Test early and test often to be able to see if your iterations are useful. Find out if your employees are able to execute your strategy and if they align with it. Gain their perspective and implement that knowledge
3. Reflect
If you want to avoid making the same mistakes again and again, you need to reflect on your feedback and your strategy. It aids the improvement process and makes it clearer for yourself what the problem has been and what needs to be changed.
Ask yourself “What would I do differently next time?”! This way you stop dwelling on the past and reduce stress and on the other hand, it gives you a sense of control. It helps you to boost your confidence and motivation.
4. Keep your motivation up
A setback is never easy, but take it as a learning experience. Every time you can realize a plan or system is not working, it brings you closer to the possibilities that are actually working. This can give you a huge motivation boost which can again power your innovation process and mindset. Motivation is the driving force for changes and progressive development. Moreover, avoid being motivated for only a short cycle because that only helps temporarily.
Failing, implementing feedback and reflecting on the experience can help you to improve your processes step by step. Follow these tips and you can increase your success rate and fail better each time.
Get more information about strategy and leadership in our blog and by signing up below.