4 types of failures
Lately I’ve been thinking on what defines a failure or a success. I see 3 types of failures that define which type of failure you’re dealing with. I would love your comments and thoughts here! This post is a small part of the larger upcoming article: The Big Post about #Fail.
/Ola Möller (@olamoller)
Update April 30:
Added a 4th type of failure thanks to @Noelito
Javelin-type failures
Success based on metrics & quantity
If your goal is to say hi to more than 3000 people in 2 hours and you fail, that would be a quantitative failure. Something that can be measured in numbers. Closer to the desired performance/length is in many cases only half a failure.
Examples
Fail/succeed to…
- Sell x amount of units.
- Get x amount of new subscribers.
- Get x amount of site visitors.
- Raise x amount of money.
Dart-type failures
Success & failure based on precise & tangible goals
To not reach a specific person is a failure that has to do with precision. It’s not something that can be quantifiable.
Examples
Fail/succeed to…
- Meet and persuade person X.
- Deliver solution X.
- Get to an agreement.
- Be on time.
- Visit a certain place.
Pathfinder-type failures
Failure and success based on an emerging path
The failure to not be able to stick to a vision would be a directional failure. It’s about keeping yourself on the right track. The direction might change but most important is to stay on that course over time.
Examples
Fail/succeed to…
- Stay on course
- Walk the right path
- Succeed continuously in an employment with
new projects/challenges arising. - Keep developing and making a product better.
Interpretative-type failures
Fail to understand if it’s a success or fail
Interpretative failure is where people fail to diagnose the problem, mistake a symptom for a cause or fail to understand the needs of people when designing a service. -@noelito
Examples
Fail to…
- be able to define what is a success or fail
- understand the problem
- distinguish symptom and cause
—
Published in MethodKit Stories on Medium.
This post is a part of the larger upcoming article: The Big Post about #Fail.
/Ola Möller (@olamoller)
Founder of MethodKit
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