"Sometimes the Best Plans Fail"

Like the story says, “sometimes the best plans fail”.  As leaders, we strive for success and sometimes we declare through our own bravado, “failure is not an option”. Well, the reality is failure may not be an option but becomes a reality cracking you in the forehead.  Once failure happens you can only dust yourself off and find out what happened to your fool proof plan. Don’t get angry, it only slows you down from analyzing what happened.  

 Here are a few steps:

·        Analyze what went wrong. Maybe it was a great idea and the timing was off. Sometimes success also happens through outside circumstances and not related careful planning.

·        Discuss with your team what was learned. You will learn different perspectives for what went right and wrong, and then be better prepared for the next time.

·        Decide what to do differently. It may not be as simple as reinforcing what you did right or wrong. By examining your failure you may have to completely change course.

·        Reaffirm your faith in your team and their individual abilities. You should confront the issues that need to be addressed, but reassure your team that failure only makes inevitable success more sweat.

·        Spotlight individual accomplishments. Especially if you are trying something new your team members have had to stretch and grow. Even if that one project failed, someone on your team probably learned a new skill or improved their abilities.

When you stop being angry at the situation, and analyze failure as a cause and effect relationship you begin to grow and improve. As you improve you create a greater Splash on the Matrix. Together, you will be on the cutting edge of success.