Is it possible to achieve success through failure? Yes!

Failure is not an option! How many times has this overused phrase been uttered in a “rally-the-troops” company speech? Or how about this tried-and-true ditty: “This product is the future of our company!” This self-serving, win-one-for-the-gipper bravado has become a mainstay in the corporate technology world today.

Just once we would like to see a company issue an honest press release with statements like: “We developed this product as a trial entry into the market place” or “This may not be exactly what the market wants, but it is only Version 1.0 of a new product, and we will make Version 2.0 much better.”

Has the desire to score a touchdown on every play blinded organizations, including IT organizations, to the usefulness of an occasional failure? The speed of technological change coupled with the increasing fickleness of customers makes this the perfect time for organizations to be more open than ever before to risking limited failure — especially when evaluating new and emerging markets.

Look at the current Internet .com craze. Companies losing billions of dollars continue to be rewarded for taking risks that may not pay off for years, yet other organizations maintain strict rules about return on investment, acceptable payback periods and mandatory profit-margin levels. We are brainwashed into believing these rules exist to make our companies better and stronger. Managers at all levels need to stop staring at the bright light and spinning disks or be ready for unemployment.

Limited failures provide opportunities for organizational and employee growth. Without the ability to fail, individuals and organizations become stale, uninventive, stagnant and eventually useless.

Mindsets and processes that thrive on eliminating and avoiding risk may be slowly killing your company. Employees frustrated and afraid to take risks because of the consequences of failure provide little extra value to the organization. After a while, these employees end up across the street working for a competitor willing to let them take a risk.

What organizations, especially IT and e-commerce-centric entities, need is an environment that encourages smart risk-taking. Rather than considering a project a potential failure because the market numbers are not high enough or the potential margin is below accepted norms, organizations should embrace the opportunity to learn what the market really wants and will pay for.

Now before our e-mail box becomes flooded with managers screaming “How dare you tell my people to fail on purpose!” or “How can a company succeed if it is designed to accept failure?” we ask you to reread this column. We are talking about organizations needing to accept some higher levels of risk. Some markets cannot be quantified, analysed and put into neat little segments. It is in these new and emerging markets that organizations must be more open to taking smarter risks and learning from their failures.

Be careful, because the “not invented here” syndrome could lead to an outbreak of a “not a player in the market” disease strong enough to kill any company.

Would you recommend this article?

Share

Thanks for taking the time to let us know what you think of this article!
We'd love to hear your opinion about this or any other story you read in our publication.


Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

Featured Download

Previous article
Next article

Featured Articles

Empowering the hybrid workforce: how technology can build a better employee experience

Across the country, employees from organizations of all sizes expect flexibility...

What’s behind the best customer experience: How to make it real for your business

The best customer experience – the kind that builds businesses and...

Overcoming the obstacles to optimized operations

Network-driven optimization is a top priority for many Canadian business leaders...

Thriving amid Canada’s tech talent shortage

With today’s tight labour market, rising customer demands, fast-evolving cyber threats...

Staying protected and compliant in an evolving IT landscape

Canadian businesses have changed remarkably and quickly over the last few...

Related Tech News

Tech Jobs

Our experienced team of journalists and bloggers bring you engaging in-depth interviews, videos and content targeted to IT professionals and line-of-business executives.

Tech Companies Hiring Right Now