Leadership

How To Fail Forward

To fail to fail means to win, to lead, to fulfill your purpose.

Here are there five steps to fail to fail whenever you face a challenge.

• Have a clear goal

What do you want to see accomplished at the end of a process?

Why do you want to accomplish such goal? Is it relevant?

Where does your goal fit in your over strategy to move towards your bigger purpose? What your overarching purpose, and how that this goal fit in the bigger picture?

Small, disconnected goals, lack power and drive in the long run.

A good goal though defined, should always be a work in progress also!

• Have a clear picture of your enemy, forces working for you, and against you.

Who is opposed to your goal?

Who could potentially become your enemy along the way?

People? Lack of resources? Management style?

Take a look at early “bumps,” and conflicts. Project them long term.

What are your alternative resources along the way?

Do you have people who have experience and expertise to talk to about possible challenges?

I have found out that surrounding myself by people who have more experience than I do, and are better than I am at certain aspects of the project go a long way in dealing effectively with conflict and challenges.

• Have a clear set of steps and strategies to accomplish your goal

Shape, re-shape, be strategic as to how you will accomplish your goal.

Having clear steps to accomplish your goal does not mean to be inflexible. It simply says you are prepare to move, but you are also open to other contingencies along the way.

• People who fail to fail, usually fail 101 times and they get up again.

Failure is failure ONLY when you don’t recover and get up and keep going.

The most dynamic leaders on any enterprise of life are long distance runners.

Great leaders know the extra mile is never crowded.

• People who fail to fail, are never scared to THINK, evaluate and re-considered their options.

I have consistently found out that people who fail to fail, are not just “reactors,” or “action driven” people, but are thinkers also. They are able to process systems, information, and absorb experiences.

Thinking a goal without action is a fantasy.

Acting without thinking the bigger picture is an impulsive illusion.