I am SO good. Not!

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This is not going to make a lot of you happy.  I know, because it doesn’t make me happy, either.  But, I understand the concept- even if I don’t like the corollary.

I have often written- and talked WAY more often- that an occasional failure is more critical to our ultimate success than steady progress.  Yes, that’s right.  If we make a plan, and we reach our milestones routinely over the course of a few years, we are probably setting ourselves up for a major disaster soon enough.

Why?  Because we believe more and more in the infallibility of our planning. That we understand the basic (and higher) concepts of the processes we are trying to control so that we can master events in the future.

Pickles comics (Brian Crain, Washington Post Writer's Group)

The problem is that there is a vast difference between causation and correlation.   And, while it is true that chance favors a prepared mind (which is the reason why we must be prepared), it is not a certainty that a prepared mind will always succeed.

We know  that the odds of flipping a coin and having the head side up is 50%.  But, we also know that we can flip a coin for 100 times and get “heads-up” situations  that range all the way from 0 to 100.  Now, if we were to do this for 10,000,000 tries, we would find the results fairly close to 50%- but they still could be off.     And, this is a simple situation- basically on or off.

Now, consider your growth plan efforts.  Your ability to grow your company by 50% a year is a function of how well your product or service matches the desires of customers,  how many customers you convert, how well you can deliver your offering, and how infrequently your offering fails to deliver on its promises to your customer.  To some degree, these factors are controllable by you.

But, what about the economic conditions of your region, your country, and the world.  If a great recession or depression occurs, what can you do?  What happens if a key raw material you need is suddenly embargoed – you simply can’t get any more?  Or, if new knowledge results that lets a competitor offer a cheaper, better product/service than you- tomorrow?

And, when that happens, you know you spend hours, days, months analyzing why and how you could miss that trend.  To make sure it never happens to you again.  Some of you even study these factors so that you won’t be blamed for your failure.  (By the way, if this is you- grow up!  We need to understand that not everything is under our control- and we are responsible, even if we didn’t cause the problem.  [Think about the law when you hit a car from the rear.  Even if he slammed on the brakes with no obstacles in front of him- you are at fault.])

No, I’m not saying don’t plan.  Nor am I saying you can’t always succeed.  I am simply saying we need to keep Joni Mitchell’s song in mind-  always look at things from both sides- now.Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A.

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34 thoughts on “I am SO good. Not!”

  1. Hey Roy,

    I like how you mention that about occasional failure. One thing that is become increasingly noticeable is how people are so often talking about only success. Okay I agree with being optimistic and hopeful that things will and shall turn out the way you want them to. But you have to be practical; things might not turn out the way you planned or though it would and then breaking down isn’t an option. Breaking down is the failure then.

    Optimism isn’t about believing that tomorrow will be beautiful; it is about knowing that even if tomorrow is ugly, I will deal with it. (I am getting good with making my quotes… eh?)

    And yes, I am thinking of moving to Colorado…. just sayin…
    Hajra recently posted..Will they call you over for a bloggers party?

    1. There’s a vast difference between being optimistic and being polly-annish.
      We all plan- hoping/expecting the pieces to fit and the plan to be well executed. The trick- and the smart move- it to monitor and adjust as you go. And, when and if things go badly astray- to determine what points were omitted from the plan and what parts of the plan were not executed well or timely. To learn what to do the next time. And, to plan your exit from this place!

      Thanks for visiting, Hajra.

      Give my regards to the spirit of John Denver when you get there…

  2. Funny stuff. The cartoon reminds me of a trap we once fell into. The girls always seemed to be short on clothes. So we bought more and more. Of course, if we did a better job of keeping up on the laundry, they would have had the clothes they needed.

    You have to identify the real source of a problem before choosing a solution.
    David @ Zoomit recently posted..Make Your Body Alkaline a4 Reduce the Most Acidic Foods | Vince’s Market | Independent Grocery Chain

    1. David-
      Your story brought tears and laughter to my eyes. Because I learned how to do the laundry when I was 8, to stop the largest cause of strife between my mom and dad. The laundry was never done and new clothes were always needed (for them).
      Thanks for reminding me that I learned then that correlation and causation had no bearing. (They found something else to scream about…)

      Roy

  3. Fantastic Roy! The best example I ever heard about causation and correlations is that there is a strong, clear correlation between reading ability and shoe size – however, reading better won’t give your larger feet and having to wear larger socks won’t necessarily help you understand the poetry of Ezra Pound.
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  4. This is a great post on so many levels!

    The coin analogy. I love that because it says to me, if you’ve flipped your proverbial coin and it keeps landing tails up, just keep flipping. It will certainly eventually land heads up!

    Responsibility for something beyond our control? Are you talking blasphemy here? (please note the sarcasm). I’m with you on this one. Crap happens, get over it so you can move on to flipping your coin.

    And, my 16 year old rear ended someone at the end of last year. Of course it was their fault for stopping for no reason. After a bit of a conversation, he now says it like this, “legally it was my fault but they stopped too fast”. Always a way around it…

    Thanks for the post Roy.
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  5. Indeed, after a failure, I spent days analyzing and thinking about how could I prevent a next one, And this make me miserable, but on the other hand it is helpful…Thus I am highly unlikely to fail again and to be sad about that again, don’t you think so?
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    1. Sorry that it makes you miserable, Anna. I always find the event traumatic, but the analysis more exhilarating, in that I can develop new plans to circumvent the roadblock or to drill right through the impediment.
      But, you are right- you are unlikely to fail again in the same fashion.

      Roy

  6. For all those who think I am the biggest deal-killer pessimist on the planet (yes, I am talking to you), we all have to look at the question and ask what if this doesn’t work or that form of energy disappears? What about this (put your own bad thought here) happens? I loved Pollyanna as a child, but have always known life isn’t really like that. We need to take responsibility from start to finish–whatever that becomes. Oh yes, and Joni Mitchell’s song is simplistic–there are many sides to consider. Real life is not a double headed coin, a regular coin or even a set of dice. Since we can’t know it all, we need to own up to that as well.
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  7. Hi Roy,
    There is a lot of truth in what you are saying here.

    Trying to look at both sides of the coin is certainly the smart thing to do but flexibility, integrity and personal accountability seem to be waning traits in our society. This is frustrating to watch isn’t it? Another aspect of planning and having things run smoothly with little thought is where is the calculated risk for growth?

    Stagnent business are not thriving either now are they? You provided a lot to think about in your post.
    Bonnie recently posted..The problem with life is…

  8. I think it’s important to plan, but it’s just as important to realize that “stuff” happens. Even the best-laid plans can turn out differently than you expect. It’s important to be flexible, understanding and willing to change your plan. Good post!
    Lisa Kanarek recently posted..Working Naked Day is Almost Here

  9. Nothing stays static or remains the same so continually being aware that today’s formula for success will eventually need adjusting is my takeaway from this post. Thinking we’ve nailed it and forgetting to stay aware of changing elements will, most likely, land a surprise in our lap. Good reminder, Roy!

  10. Well said, as always, Roy. Failure is important to growth. Why, just the other day, while my son was driving with me in the car, he didn’t realize that he had to turn left across the median in the intersection and we found ourselves facing oncoming traffic. Luckily, disaster was averted by pulling over, but I think he will pay better attention to intersections that he is not familiar with in the future, and hopefully won’t make that mistake again. Like you said, we can only control so much, planning is essential for both what we can and cannot control. And I sure hope Ben plans his moves better when he is driving! ~ Suerae
    Suerae Stein recently posted..My Healing Process . . . Part 1

  11. ♫♫It’s life illusions I recall… I really don’t know how…. at all. ♫♫

    I agree with you… we do grow more quickly when a fly gets in our ointment! Yet, I don’t like to plan to fail.

  12. All too true Roy. We have to take responsibility for being in business where and when we are… plain and simple. After all, the economy doesn’t care whether we succeed or fail.

    Like David, the cartoon reminds me of another story – The guy who was running around his island waving a stick. When asked why, he said “I’m chasing away the tigers”. Answer “But there aren’t any tigers here!”. Said he: “Exactly”
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  13. Failures may help you to mold as a better person and become successful because failures may teach us from moving on. Thanks for this impressive article I learn a lot of things here.
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