Archives For Failure

Empirical Creativity: Lesson #2 from Jim Collins’ Great By Choice

January 2, 2012 — 3 Comments

In my last post, I shared lesson #1, FANATIC DISCIPLINE, from Jim Collins and Morten Hanson’s book, Great By Choice. It’s the first of three core behaviors that mark the 10x companies shared in Collins and Hanson’s latest research. The second behavior that allowed 10x companies to thrive during chaotic and uncertain environments is EMPIRICAL CREATIVITY.

There is a common perception in leadership that innovation is the key to success. Or, put more plainly, the more innovative you are, the more successful you’ll be. However, Collins and Hansen discovered a different reality:

“The evidence from our research does not support the premise that 10x companies will necessarily be more innovative than their less successful comparisons. And in some cases, such as Southwest Airlines versus PSA and Amgen versus Genentech, the 10x companies were less innovative than the comparison….we’re not saying that innovation is unimportant…We concluded that each environment has a level of ‘threshold innovation’ that you need to meet to be a contender in the game; some industries such as airlines, have a low threshold, whereas other industries, such as biotechnology, command a high threshold. Companies that fail even to meet the innovation threshold cannot win. But–and this surprised us–once you’re above the threshold, especially in a highly turbulent environment, being more innovative doesn’t seem to matter very much.” (p. 65, 67)

What’s essential is that creativity and discipline exist together. “Intel’s founders believed that innovation without discipline leads to disaster” (p. 69). In fact, Intel’s #1 core value isn’t innovation or creativity, it’s discipline. Collins and Hansen observe, “The great task, rarely achieved, is to blend creativity intensity with relentless discipline so as to amplify the creativity rather than destroy it” (p. 70).

But the key is not just creativity…it’s EMPIRICAL CREATIVITY. In other words, 10x companies don’t innovate blindly, throwing huge amounts of resources at new ideas. They employ what Collins and Hansen call, “Bullets, Then Cannonballs.”

Continue Reading…

In Leadership, Organizations Creativity, Discipline, Failure, Innovation, Jim Collins, Risk, Success
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Safe Innovation

May 20, 2011 — Leave a comment

Sir Ken Robinson, an international leader in the development of education, creativity, and innovation, says, “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” Interestingly, there are two opposing forces at work in this statement: A desire for originality and an assurance that we won’t fail.

We want “Safe Innovation.”

That’s where we miss the mark. Creativity and innovation requires a posture that’s okay with getting it wrong. In fact, if you’re innovating safely, you’re probably not innovating at all. That doesn’t mean that just because you’re wrong, you’re creative. But if you’re unwilling to embrace failure, innovation will never be your friend.

Robinson defines creativity as the process of having original ideas that have value. And those original ideas are simply not possible if we’re always fighting to be right. So here are three questions to consider about “being wrong” as you seek to cultivate original ideas: Continue Reading…

In Leadership, Personal Growth Creativity, Failure, Ideas, Innovation, Leadership, Personal Growth
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15 Insights From Catalyst Dallas

May 14, 2011 — Leave a comment

I’ve spent the last 3 days at the Catalyst Conference in Dallas. Catalyst is such a great event loaded with great leadership teaching, fantastic worship, inspiring stories from culture-shaping leaders, and hilarious creativity. This year’s theme was “Take Courage.” Here are a few of my favorite takeaways from the event:

1.   A single act of courage is often the tipping point for something extraordinary to happen - Pastor Andy Stanley shared this thought in the opening session and then described three faces of courage:

  • Courage to stay when it would be easier to go.
  • Courage to leave when it would be easier to stay.
  • Courage to ask for help, when it would be easier to pretend that everything is okay.

Stanley observed that you never know what hangs in the balance when God says to stay while others say to go or when God says to go when it would be easier to stay. He said the only thing we should fear is waking up one day and being outside of God’s will.

2.  Our response to fear is either to seek to be safer or seek to be braver - Gary Haugen from the International Justice Mission made this observation and then observed that we want to know with certainty the path to take, how much it will cost, and be assured that it will be successful. Haugen says, “You can experience your power safely or God’s power dangerously.”

3. Creative Idea + Organization & Execution + Community Forces + Leadership Capability = Making Ideas Happen - Scott Belsky, CEO of Behance, shared this formula as a process to turn great ideas into reality.

4. We are living somebody else’s to do list. Don’t surrender to reactionary workflow - This was another great insight by Scott Belsky. He observed that most leaders live in reactionary mode and abandon the essential practice of finding quiet spaces to think and reflect. This practice helps us be proactive.

5.  You can’t equate the blessed life with the safe life. The purpose of life is not to arrive at death safely - Christine Caine, founder of the A21 Campaign, shared this principle as she championed the cause of justice.  Christine works relentless to see slaves freed.

6. Compassion is never compassion until you roll up your sleeves, cross the street, and show compassion - Another great insight from Christine Caine.

7.  Joseph’s power was not about being powerful. It was about saving lives - This quote from Donald Miller as he shared about the life of Joseph was a great reminder of the purpose of leadership, power, and influence.

8. If you’re not dead, you’re not done - These are Craig Groeschel’s words of encouragement to the older generation followed by a challenge to invest in young leaders by delegating responsibility, not just tasks.

9. You can’t speed up maturity…it takes time - Craig made this challenge to the younger generation, reminding them of the importance of maturity and faithfulness.

10. You overestimate what God wants to do in the short run and grossly underestimate what God wants to do in the long run - This was another challenge Craig Groeschel made to the younger generation.

11. If you want to be over, learn to be under with integrity - This was Groeschel’s challenge to the young generation. He also reminded the audience of Andy Stanley’s words to leaders serving under a senior leader: “Honor publicly results in influence privately.” By honoring your leader publicly, you’ll gain influence with them in one-on-one meetings.

12. Admit your failures - Although this sounds like an obvious lesson, Scott Harrison, CEO of Charity: Water, used it to powerfully illustrate the value of transparency in leadership. Scott gave an example of drilling for water and the effort failing. They posted the video to their donors and didn’t try to candy coat the failure (even though 95% of the time they are successful). This transparency has only deepened respect from donors for the organization.

13. Do you teach your people that sin is an external activity or a state of the heart? Do you train people to attack the root or the branches? - These were questions Pastor Matt Chandler posed followed by the challenge that, “Most people don’t deal violently with sin.”

14. Your fully exploited strengths are of far greater value to your organization than your marginally improved weaknesses - Pastor Andy Stanley shared these words in his closing session. Some of his ideas included:

  • The less you do, the more you accomplish
  • The less you do, the more you enable others to accomplish
  • Only do what only you can do
  • Great achievers are not well-rounded. They are men and women who play to their strengths and delegate their weaknesses. Don’t focus on being well-rounded; focus on developing a well-rounded organization.
  • Your weakness is somebody else’s opportunity
  • Stress is often related to WHAT you are doing not HOW MUCH you are doing. Your sweet spot gives you energy.

15.  Get in the habit of saying to your team, “I’ll let you decide that.” This is the greatest way to develop leaders - Andy Stanley noted that when the organization’s key leader makes all the decisions, they become the bottleneck to leadership development.

Those are my 15 insights gleaned from this year’s Catalyst Conference in Dallas.

Question: What insights could you add to the lessons above? If you attended Catalyst, what lessons would you add?

 

In Church, Culture, Leadership, Organizations, Personal Growth Church, Courage, Delegation, Execution, Failure, Leadership, Organizations, Personal Growth, Perspective, servant-leadership, Strengths
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Moving From Intentions to Actions

April 18, 2011 — 2 Comments

I recently heard somebody say, “Nobody else knows what I intended to do. They only know what I didn’t do.” That statement summarizes a life of regrets. It’s a history. It represents years of choices to nowhere. And it encapsulates a private pain of dashed hopes and dreams. The gap between intentions and actions is painfully large. And while there are plenty of ideas out there on how to close that gap, let me give you three insights that need to accompany your gap-closing journey:

1.  Take an Imperfect First Step - Sometimes I think this is the biggest barrier we face. We take so much time thinking about our intentions that we never take a first step. Perhaps it’s because we think our first step has to be perfect. It doesn’t! Start somewhere…today.

2.  Give Yourself Permission to Fail - Failure WILL be a part of your journey in closing your growth gaps. Not might, not could be, not hope it isn’t…failure WILL accompany you. The difference between people who are considered successes and people who are deemed failures is how they view and respond to failures. One learns from failures and leverages them for future growth while the other let’s failure define who they are.

3.  Value a Growth Attitude over a Growth Goal - I’m all in favor of setting growth goals, mapping out a plan to reach them, and inviting others to hold me accountable. But more than growth goals, I’m committed to a growth attitude. Both are important, but the attitude is what empowers the goal to be reached, and it’s the engine that drives lifelong learning.

Don’t camp yourself in the land of regrets. Start somewhere, don’t worry about failure, and cultivate an attitude that will help you to keep moving forward.

Question: Which of these three insights is your biggest challenge?

 

In Personal Growth Attitude, Failure, Personal Growth
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5 Meaningless Apologies…And One That Works

September 16, 2010 — Leave a comment
You’ve probably experienced it before, maybe more times than you care to count. You know…somebody apologizes to you, but the apology is cluttered with background noise. Rather than a sincere apology where the offender takes full responsibility for their words and actions, there’s a hint of justification, arrogance, or even denial in their so called “apology.” Before this turns into a pity party, let’s look in the mirror for a moment. Chances are you’ve done the same to someone else. I know I have. 

The problem is we play games with our apologies–five games to be exact. In her book, The Art of Mentoring, Shirley Peddy describes these meaningless games that turn into meaningless apologies:

1. The Legal Game - This game involves transferring blame to the other party. Peddy says the legal game sounds like this: “I’m sorry that you took what I said the wrong way.” This tactic suggests that the person we offended has the problem, not us. I’m pretty sure I recall a few politicians and public figures using this line.

2. The Journalistic Approach - This strategy attributes every detail of the situation to an unnamed source. The Journalistic approach sounds like this: “I was told you had handled this. That’s why I reacted so strongly.”  My reaction is under my control, nobody else’s. It’s a choice.

3. The Scientific Apology - This approach pulls the situation under a microscope where every detail is agonized over. Here’s how Peddy describes it: “Did A lead to B? Was there a scientific cause behind it? You say, ‘I did X because you did Y. Perhaps if you had done Z…’ Get my drift?”

4. The Theatrical Apology - This apology is high on drama. Here’s how Peddy articulates it: “Oh, I can’t believe I could have done something so awful. You wouldn’t believe what was going on here. I mean, it’s a zoo! Can you ever forgive me?” There’s no need for the drama in an apology. It’s nothing more than an attempt to justify our behavior.

5. The Political Apology - The final meaningless apology is political in nature….as if something happened but nobody was there. Peddy says the political apology sounds like this: “We regret a mistake was made by someone. Of course, since we had no control of the situation, we can’t assume responsibility for the event.” Ever heard a large company make an apology like this that was broadcast by the media for the world to hear. It lacks heart, sincerity, and avoids any responsibility. 

So what’s the appropriate way to apologize? Consider the Gracious Apology. The gracious apology takes full responsibility without twisting things, creating a bunch of drama, or shifting the blame. Peddy asserts that a gracious apology means that we fully admit our mistake, give opportunity for the other party to respond, empathize with their feelings, offer to correct the situation, and follow the apology with action steps. 

Questions: What other “apology tactics” have you seen people use? What else can a leader do to make a gracious apology? Who do you need to apologize to? 
In Personal Growth Failure, Mentoring, Relationships
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Everything Looks Like a Failure in the Middle

March 13, 2010 — Leave a comment

Drowning!  Maybe that’s how you feel right now.  Perhaps you’re in the middle of a huge undertaking and you feel like you’ve bit off more than you can chew.  We’ve all had those moments when we’re living in the shadow of a mountain that’s about to overtake us.  In that shadow we face the constant temptation to give up, to say “I quit,” to pull the plug and watch all of our dreams deflate right before our eyes.  Before you throw in the towel, consider the words of Rosabeth Moss Kanter:

“Everything looks like a failure in the middle.”

Isn’t that true?  It’s not until we come out on the other end that we feel like victors.  So the next time you feel like you’re drowning, remember, you’re in the middle.  Your feelings are normal.  Keep moving forward. 

In Personal Growth Attitude, Failure, Perspective
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Leadership Failure or Failed Leadership

April 23, 2009 — 2 Comments

Perhaps the greatest fear for leaders today is failure.  Unfortunately, we often equate a “leadership failure” with “failed leadership.” Sound like a technicality of terms?  A leadership failure means you made a poor decision, risked and lost, or tried something new that simply didn’t work.  It typically comes with a big slice of humble pie.  But “failed leadership” indicates a complete leadership meltdown–it’s a loss of character, a growth plateau in competence, a compromise in conviction, or a retreat from courage into comfortable safety.  

“Leadership failure” and “failed leadership” may sound like a slight terminology tweak, but the difference is anything but.  The problem is, when we equate a “leadership failure” with “failed leadership” we retreat to our predictable world of mediocrity.  We stop growing, innovating, creating, and pushing ourselves outside the safety of routines.  Our image becomes our idol and innovation becomes our enemy.  

In their book, A Leader’s Legacy, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner said, “If you’re not willing to fail at what you do, you’ll never become great and you’ll never innovate” (p. 164).  Did you catch that…”If you’re not WILLING to fail…”  In other words, failure has to be an option in your leadership landscape.  It’s not that you want to fail or intentionally choose to fail, but to paint a leadership picture without risk is the equivalent of building your organization on the worn out ideas of yesterday.  The result–”You’ll never become great and you’ll never innovate.”  

So what’s your failure tolerance?  Are you willing to risk so that you can innovate a better tomorrow?  So that you can lead your church, ministry, or organization to a new level?  So that you can fulfill God’s call on your life?  So that you can change the slice of the world God has called you to serve?  Or will you conclude your life and leadership on auto pilot?  

Is failure risky?  Sure it is–but no more risky than the retreat to safety where we stop trusting God because our fear of failure squelches God’s call to change, risk, and courageously lead.  It’s important to understand that failure and success are bedfellows. Michael Jordan said it best: “I’ve missed more than nine thousand shots in my career.  I’ve lost three hundred games.  Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the winning shot and missed.  I’ve failed over and over again in my life.  And that is why I succeed.”  

I would rather have multiple leadership failures than be a failed leader.  If your heart is right, you walk humbly with God, you are honest about your mistakes, and you treat others with respect, people can often find it within themselves to forgive you for a leadership failure.  But failed leadership is different–it defines your legacy. 

In Leadership, Personal Growth Failure, Innovation, Leadership, Personal Growth, Risk
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