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How To Shift to a ‘Test and Fail’ Mentality
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is an excerpt of a current article from the blog of Dave Wendland, VP of strategic relations at Hamacher Resource Group (HRG) and Forbes Council Member. The article first appeared on Forbes.com.
Imagine yourself at the top of a black diamond ski hill with the tips of your skis hovering precariously over the edge. You have two choices: You can doubt yourself and your abilities and remain frozen in place, or you can trust yourself and lean forward.
I think you can apply this scenario to nearly every business and life decision.
During a recent executive event for the retail drug industry, I was struck by the number of retailers and manufacturers alike adopting a “test and fail” mentality as many pandemic-related challenges have subsided, versus the more arduous and calculated “test and learn” one.
A “test and fail” mindset says: “I’m willing to fall a few times along this journey in order to pick myself up, learn on the fly, and ultimately reach the goal. And if the circumstances become unbearable or untenable, I reserve the right to shift gears and try some new direction.”
Some of the underpinnings to guide a shift to more of a “test and fail” mindset include:
- Stretch your mind: You can apply the “test and fail” mindset when using your imagination to uncover new ideas. One of my favorite quotes is from Oliver Wendell Holmes, who stated, “Man’s mind, stretched to a new idea, never goes back to its original dimension.”
- Celebrate failure: At an often-cited TED Talk from 2016, Astro Teller, head of X (formerly Google X) — the secretive research center within Google — discussed the importance of celebrating failure as a means to discovering “moonshots.” Not focusing on incremental innovation, but rather big breakthrough ideas. Do they fail? Yes. Do they recover and overcome? Undoubtedly.
- Reward creative thinking and discovery: Within your own operation, encourage an environment that rewards creative thinking and an attitude of discovery. There is a marked difference between being daring and being risky, but I believe that without a willingness to step outside our comfort zone and try something new, we become idle.
To quote legendary hockey player Wayne Gretzky, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” So do something about it today. And have the courage and fortitude to take the leap.
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What advice would you have around shifting to more of “test and fail” approach? What incentives and safeguards should be in place to ensure the benefits outweigh the risks?
Poll
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Early in my merchandising days, I was introduced to the concept of “no guts, no glory”. Yes. We are risk takers by nature. Embrace it with the knowledge that you have quantified the downside. That determines the size of the risk you’re going to take including time frame. Don’t hesitate. Be decisive. Celebrate the risk taking and the rewards!
Love the “no guts, no glory” mantra, @Allison McCabe. Moving forward demands decisive action. Whether crediting Thomas Paine, George Patton, or Lee Iacocca, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way!” applies to retail today. Taking a wait and see approach is a surefire way to fall behind.
A “test and fail” approach is a hallmark of so many creative endeavors, so it makes sense to apply it to business efforts as well. The biggest challenge facing managers and execs who want to engender creative risk-taking is finding ways to provide safe situations in which to fail. You don’t want to try out wild store design ideas on customers, for example, who are generally satisfied with their shopping experience. You don’t want to try a new process out on a client if they’re expecting the project to go as it has in the past.
Most organizations are too busy trying to make their monthly numbers to dedicate time and resources to test projects that are likely to fail. It takes a long-view commitment, and few business leaders have that kind of vision. And yet, if you look at the companies that set the pace rather than follow the pack, you’ll likely see that they’ve dedicated the time to fail.
Good points. If we look at the history of once dynamic companies that are no longer with us, we will see that their failure was a fear of failure and holding tight to what they do…despite the fact that innovation (and failure) got them there in the first place.
Test & Fail, Fail Fast, Fail Forward, whatever phrase you want to use should be part of every company’s DNA. High performing companies typically have incorporated agile-type methodologies to underpin these approaches. Small, highly collaborative teams should work in sprints and conduct ‘reflections’ very frequently, which usually results in incremental course corrections until success is achieved. Leaders need to heap praise on team members for following the process, identifying roadblocks, pivoting quickly, and executing with speed. Failures should be looked upon as opportunities to improve and shared with the broader organization for everyone’s learning benefit. Using a sports analogy, the best hitters in baseball fail 2 out of 3 times at the plate. If they don’t learn from their mistakes, they’d never be successful that one time they do hit a single, double or home run.
In my first class with a new cohort, I don’t teach the course material. I teach the importance of failure. If they are going to learn, mistakes are part of the process.
When I ran business groups, new ideas failed more than were successful. But, when they were successful, they were hugely successful.
I started two companies, and like most entrepreneurs, the company the business plan morphs into rarely looks exactly like the original business plan.
Companies must reward creative thinking and discovery, failure or not. Laugh at that million-dollar failure and make it part of a company’s legacy. Then find the billion-dollar success.
How great, @Gene Detroyer, that you begin each class session with a lesson on the importance of failing. Great advice.
My only advice is to avoid thinking that failure is something one must do or something that can be categorically dismissed as part of learning or testing especially when it’s caused by carelessness, poor planning, improper strategy or inept execution. Failure is a consequence of a worthy pursuit and as such, it is no different than success. It is calculated. And just as you wouldn’t send a beginner, on their first day of skiing, without a minute of instruction down a double black diamond and call it “test and fail,” we can’t use “test and fail” as an excuse to be reckless and as an excuse to avoid accountability.
I think back to the Ron Johnson era at JCPenney, over 10 years ago. He made wholesale changes in the company’s strategy, and the failure was due in part to the lack of testing. “Test and fail” is a good way to encourage risk-taking but also a good way to mitigate those risks. The key is a rapid response — on the upside or downside — to the results of those tests.
Dick, looks like I should have scrolled down a little before crafting my comments. You beat me to the punch on Ron Johnson/JCP. That was indeed a great lesson on the importance of testing to both learn and fail.
If a business stands still, over time it will inevitably see sale and margins erode while costs increase. There is no other way forward than to experiment. Whether it’s test and learn, or fail fast, encourageing creative thinking is a must.
I really like the differentiation between “test & fail” and “test & learn”. Moonshots vs incremental progress. The key is timing and scale. I’m reminded of the Ron Johnson/JCP scenario. Clearly a number of change initiatives were called for. But they embarked on a “pedal to the metal” or “damn the torpedoes” course. The scale of the failure was catastrophic. And observing that level of failure only fans the flames of fear and caution in others. I say it about customers but it’s true for retailers and brands also. Explore + Experiment. Seems to me that’s what Amazon keeps doing. They’re doing a lot of testing and failing and learning. And growing!
I have been fortunate to have worked with retailers that have allowed me to test and fail- I have learned so much from being able to have done this.
Yes- a certain amount of risk is involved, but if you set parameters early on, the risk will be mitigated.
Is “don’t!” an option?? I’m not entirely serious, but I have some reservations when I see phrases like “celebrate failure”. Many times a situation presents itself with no clear solutions; it’s understood that many things may have to be tried, and most of them won’t work. But it’s a non-sequitur to use the failures themselves to validate the particular efforts. The tech era has brought us many wonderful things. but I think it’s also had the unfortunate habit of sometimes confusing uncritical thinking with innovation…nothing succeeds like a well thought out plan.
Whether you’re a retailer or a CPG brand, with today’s increasingly volatile marketplace and the great consumer reset that’s enfolding, it’s imperative that we all remain agile in our approach. In order to test out new plans and strategies with minimal risk, it’s critical that companies take advantage of the right inputs including access to real-time, hyper-local data to help them make the best, most educated decisions possible.
The courage to try is more important than the willingness to fail. The lesson learned (and applied) is more important than failing. In other words, the more you are willing to test and fail, the more courage you have to learn (and do) something new.