The Darwin Awards, Failure, and the Power of No
Tragedy and comedy are arguably nowhere more integrated than in recurring Darwin Award announcements. According to the official website (www.darwinawards.com), these snippets pay homage to Charles Darwin, the father of evolution. “Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool–by removing themselves from it.” Like the Malaysian man who came across a 12′ reticulated python on the side of the road earlier this year and decided to pick it up and transport it down the road on his scooter to sell nearby. You can guess the outcome. Business is a lot like this – those that survive avoid picking up the roadside pythons. Those that do? Well…
We were in Virginia in late August visiting with an organization near Norfolk. They’d asked us to share some thoughts about leadership during their weekly huddle – so I led a discussion about the leadership lessons I’d learned from all the mistakes I made while serving in the Army. At the end of the well-received session, the President thanked me for my time and told me that those stories represented the “dumb tax” people sometimes have to pay to learn and grow. He was appreciative I’d paid the tax and shared those lessons with his team so they didn’t have to. Wait a minute…I think he just called me dumb. Thoughts of stopping my scooter to pick up that python are swirling in my brain.
Now failure and “no” aren’t exactly the same thing, but in a growing business, they often feel the same. Miss a deadline. Blow a presentation. Overprice a product or service. Misspeak at an inopportune time. Most of us have experienced at least one of these on occasion. Some of us have experience with all of them. I sure have. Any failure, especially in a small business like mine, ripples throughout an organization and may have lingering impact over months if not years.
Now I’m not encouraging failure, but I am suggesting there’s something to be learned from it. Better time management. Greater empathy during a presentation’s preparation and delivery. Pricing data points that get the sale next time. Heightened self-management and mindfulness when we speak.
It’s not just the incremental improvement possible through a “no” or misstep – it’s the freedom of having explored and found one approach non-productive in this busy world. Quickly close that door and move on to the next, narrowing and fine-tuning your way along more optimal paths.
I haven’t learned to love “no” yet, but it does generate freedom to explore a different path. Oh…and as far as paths are concerned…leave that python where it lies.