Failure Is Not an Option – Shallow Motivational Tip 3

The thrilling movie “Apollo 13” gave us a vivid depiction of the real life drama of rescuing a team of astronauts when everything was against them. Fortunately, the people on the ground tasked with problem solving did not accept failure as an option… but realistically it was in fact the most likely option and that fact loomed large in their minds. It was the value of human life and passion for their mission that motivated them, not some cheesy cliché spouted by their leader. Recognizing all of the possible options gave them direction. Their work was then focused on eliminating the obvious answer as a final outcome. Does anybody really think that fear of consequences of failure for routine, everyday, mundane tasks are a valid motivational tool? That’s the definition of terrorism.  If the Apollo 13 ground crew was motivated by fear of failure rather than dedication to duty the outcome could have been much different. Very few business circumstances require life or death decision making.

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Defining Success Also Defines Failure – If there is no clear-cut objective for an activity, any outcome will be acceptable. Planning is the hard part. It begins with an eye on acceptable outcomes and the probability of successful paths to optimize the results. Failure is always a possible outcome. Analyzing the probability of not succeeding must include the costs of failing compared to the cost of success. Success is not always guaranteed by the application of more resources, so the break-even point helps to identify critical points in the process.

There are Degrees of Failure – Total failure is rarely the case. The benefit of a partial failure is that it helps to focus more clearly the factors required for success. In a “glass half full” analogy, partial failures come with partial successes and can highlight what went right. Failure analysis is a primary factor in making improvements to a system or process to improve results in the future. Calculating the mean time between failures can help to apply corrective action before failure occurs.

Permission To Fail Is Essential – Employees required to constantly walk a tightrope of performance without the option to fail is not only demoralizing it limits growth through learning by experimentation. Faced with a new obstacle in the path to success, trial and error is a logical tool to employ for learning the things that work and the things that don’t. Risk assessment is a skill. Requiring that only 100% risk free decisions are the correct course is unrealistic when attempting to overcome unknown challenges toward achieving a goal.

With the exception of catastrophic failures that could cause significant loss of life or property, failure is always possible. To declare that it is not an option doesn’t make it true. The wise leader will recognize the value of failure and formulate means of dealing with it appropriately.

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