#003- The Power of Failure to Make Us Better

Determination is a trait in people that we admire. But it is a two-edged sword.

Leadership

In a previous post I pointed out that for leaders to overcome chaos requires 1) right purpose, 2) right process and 3) the right people aligned around that purpose. Sounds easy, but we all know it’s not. Once a purpose is declared the hard work of figuring out how to fulfill that purpose and do it right ensue. What are the steps that will produce the result we want? Which people should do what and when? It takes a huge amount of tenacity to work through all the variable and get things working. It takes an ‘iron will’ to battle through these things. 

Disaster

I now tell you a story about how my own ‘iron will’ can get in the way. As a young CEO I worked with our team to decide to build a new major software product. It was an ambitious product with big goals. Once the decision was made, I was resolute about our objective and when things didn’t go right, we doubled down, added people, worked harder. ‘We are not quitting’, was my mantra. This went on until I almost bankrupt the company and was forced to lay off half our workforce. It was devastatingly painful as we were a ‘riends and family’ type company.

The disaster of ‘running out of money’ was the only force that was strong enough to overcome my determination to keep going. Remember the formula for good leadership: 1) purpose, 2) process and 3) people. If the purpose is wrong, you can’t make up for it with people and process. My leadership trait of determination (which was essential as a leader), was also the reason I could not accept the truth about this project. It had the wrong purpose.

Fortunately, the disaster of financial failure and layoffs forced us all to get laser focused on a new direction, which lead to a 6-fold growth over the next 6 years. 

Principle

Humans are created with an amazing capacity to set goals and pursue them. BUT leadership of self and others requires the humility to consider that maybe our purposes aren’t aligned with reality– they may not be aligned with what is true. Sometimes it takes disaster to get us to figure this out. It is worth disaster to learn the truth.