Reframe “Failure” as “Discovery”
In Fans First, readers learn just how dead set on this “fans first” mentality the Savannah Bananas really are. Continuous improvement, experimentation and innovation are consistently front-of-mind for their organization. The Bananas have a standard of experimenting with at least four new activities each game. Admittedly, author Jesse Cole shares that many of their experiments are busts, but none of them are wasted. At a minimum, he's constantly refining what his organization is best at.
I think they do a really great job of fostering a sense of curiosity with their people, especially with their leaders. Their leaders are some of the most curious people I have ever learned about. Curiosity is a powerful tool to put to work in business.
Curiosity helps us be better planners. When we allow curiosity to guide our thinking, we ponder the “what if’s” of every scenario and plan around them accordingly. Contingency planning enveloped in curiosity makes us look extremely intelligent because we have thought through all of the possible scenarios ahead of time, minimizing surprises and fire drills.
When curiosity has helped us become better planners, we can respond – rather than react – to situations. Curiosity enables us to respond thoughtfully and intentionally, rather than reacting in haste and often with regret. Steady Leaders respond; they don’t react.
Curiosity also motivates us to experiment; and experimentation brings innovation. Innovation is integral to business growth.
Now, to be great at experimenting, we must reframe the word “failure” in our mind; change it from failure in a negative connotation to, as author Cole writes, “discovery.” Coles says that he doesn’t believe in failure. “Failure yells at you and tell you to never try again.” Rather, Cole sees every failure as “an opportunity to discover more about your organization.”
“The quickest path to innovation is through discovery. The only way to discover is to constantly try new things. The more you try, the more you discover.”
We should rejoice in failure because it means we are learning new things – about our own company, our fans/customers, our environment, and the rules of the game. And all of this learning happening through the exercise of curiosity and experimentation produces a better and more valuable outcome for our customers. So, eliminate that dirty word failure from your vocabulary! Cole writes that you should actually be convicted to do this because fans never remember the failures – they only remember the good. The point is to not let the bad – or even the potential of failure – stop you from experimenting.
Failure is discovery – it is input on what to do next and motivation to do better with your next experiment than you did today.
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Written by Schuyler Williamson
REALTOR. Leader. Veteran. Business Owner. Investor.
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God Bless!
~ Schuyler Williamson