A Driving Challenge

I recently had lunch with a friend who told me about her car. The transmission had gone bad and it only allowed her to drive her car forward. She said she drove this way for over a year because she couldn’t afford to have the transmission repaired.

Imagine driving and only being able to go forward. Think about the planning involved, never being able to go in reverse. Think about it tomorrow as you drive to work. In fact, I challenge you to try driving tomorrow without going into reverse.

What will that force you to do? Plan very carefully. And don't go back.

Yes, the same applies to business, life, and brand strategies. It's all too easy to back up – especially when you make a mistake. But too often, mistakes lead to over-reaction and over-compensation. Sure, New Coke was a bad idea, but does that mean we should never try anything new again? That’s a natural and potentially fatal response. Steve Jobs failed with Lisa. And he failed with NEXT. But he nailed it with Pixar and iMac. It brings to mind one of my favorite quotes from Michael Jordan:

“I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Analyze your mistakes. Learn from them, but don’t over-compensate. You're better off just going forward.

#strategy #Planning