Missed Opportunity: Getting Success from Mistakes

Author: (USA) Faison / Sun Dali
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: Imagine completely changing your traditional concepts of success and failure—what would happen? Suppose the paths to both are entirely different from what you’ve known—what then? Imagine you could no longer distinguish between success and failure, and must accept the concept that neither is the entirety or ultimate goal of management. Today, almost every management action is subjected to scrutiny: Was it a success or a failure? In reality, this scrutiny is wrong. Organizations need continuous innovation to navigate the ever-changing economy, and the so-called setbacks in the process will be at least as frequent as apparent successes. In a volatile economic landscape, you may face as many successes as failures. Does this mean you’ve ultimately failed? Yes, but according to your grandparent’s standards. A new world demands new perspectives. When competition gives way to "co-opetition" and intellectual capital begins to compete with financial capital, a new way of doing business becomes necessary. And redefining success and failure is a crucial part of this process. As people’s attitudes toward success and failure change, the meaning of every management action also shifts. These attitudes are deeply ingrained and not easy to alter. At first, the idea that "success and failure are not what we originally thought" may seem confusing. But ultimately, it will inspire us to break free from constraints and take courageous steps in life. Many have already done so, especially entrepreneurs who view failure as the necessary path to success. What we find hardest to change are the practices we once considered absolute. It’s precisely these "common knowledge" things that cause us the most trouble. Our unwavering beliefs prevent us from learning what we must, forcing us to patch things up with outdated tools. In a world where "change is the only constant," steering with methods that have been "proven effective" is no longer sufficient. Those methods would only allow us to arrogantly drive our old cars into the 21st century. The same applies to success and failure, as we typically use these terms. When developing economies demand revolutionary change, those outdated concepts no longer work. Today’s creative innovators recognize that clinging to traditional notions of success and failure in running a business only leads to a self-imposed trap. Relying on tradition and outdated success and failure concepts in a changing economy will only hinder your ability to innovate, compete, and stay ahead. This is the essence of this book. We hope it helps you reevaluate traditional notions of success and failure, sometimes even flipping them upside down, and discover new management methods that transcend success and failure, elevating your management to a higher level. By the time you reach the last chapter, you may begin to wonder whether, as a leader, you should even keep these words in your dictionary.