SlideShare a Scribd company logo
THE
FAST-FAILURE
FRIENDLY FIRM
FAIL YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS
http://www.flickr.com/photos/geyring/
PROLOGUE
WHY IT MATTERS
Pacemakers
Post-its
Penicillin
The Light Bulb
The Microwave
Corn Flakes
Discovery of the Americas
Kitty Hawk
These were all failures that
led to mondo ducats
But, we shouldn't just say
"Whoo hooo! Let's fail
more!"
Ideally, we should fail more,
but fail smarter
that means we want to fail
when….
1. the costs of failure are low
and the returns are high
2. we can quickly determine if
we're failing, so that we can
pivot quickly
3. we can learn effectively
from the failure
this presentation is about how
managers can build
organizations that can do that
PART ONE
WHAT IS FAILURE?
let's first differentiate
between failures and f@*k
ups
failures are legitimate
mistakes
It's a legitimate mistake when
you…
fumble because you lacked all
the data, but had to move
forward anyway
made a reasonable bet, but
got unlucky with
circumstances
invested in a low cost - high
potential reward experiment
f@*k ups are stupid mistakes
It's a f@*k up when you…
failed to execute due
diligence before or during
failed to learn from a
legitimate mistake and
repeated it
invested in a high cost – low
potential reward experiment
PART TWO
WHY FAIL?
let's talk about 8 reasons why
legitimate mistakes can be
valuable
REASON 1
Fail regularly to ensure that
you keep striving
Failure occurs when you stretch / grow yourself, because you are out of
your comfort level. If you’re not failing, you’re likely not stretching.
Explicitly track (and record) your rate of personal failures. Ensure 1 meaty screw up per
quarter, or force yourself to move into personally uncharted waters.
REASON 2
Fail regularly so that you
continue to be surprised
Surprise is a key to innovation because it reveals opportunities. It also
stores valuable Return on Investment if you learn from it.
Seek out Failure and aggressively run retrospectives (post mortems). Celebrate what you learn
positively, widely, and publicly.
REASON 3
Fail regularly to keep an open
mind
We are biologically predisposed to calcify assumptions & shy from
cognitive dissonance. Shake things up before they can’t be dislodged.
Compose a list of 10 things that you believed 15 years ago, which you now know are false, or
at least, not quite right. Remember how sure you were.
REASON 4
Fail regularly so that you
remind the ego to stay
humble
The greatest danger of confidence is over confidence
Find and listen to the album “Nothing’s Shocking” by Jane’s Addiction. It has nothing to do
with this topic. It’s just a fraking good album.
REASON 5
Fail regularly so that you build
empathy for others who fail
Most people fear failure because of how they think others will see them.
It is peer pressure which makes us avoid what is innately good for us.
Look around for someone who is currently failing and give them a shoulder to lean on. No
questions asked. No judgements made.
REASON 6
Fail regularly so that you build
confidence in your resilience
One of the reasons that it was so hard to shave my head bald for the
Children’s Cancer Foundation Hair for Hope program was the worry that
it wouldn’t come back. It did.
Compose a list of 3 big mistakes you’ve made in your life thus far. Appreciate that you got
through them and that they are not nearly so dire years later.
REASON 7
Fail regularly to build practical
recovery skills so that you get
up faster & stronger next time
‘nuff said
Go back to the retrospective you ran for Reason #2 and analyse the process after the failure
rather than before. Identify 1 thing to improve with recovery next round.
REASON 8
Fail regularly so that failure
becomes less scary &
embarrassing
Once you train your brain to see failure as an opportunity, it will become
one
Find someone who has failed (and who may feel privately ashamed) and let them know
personally that it’s no big deal.
PART THREE
HOW DO YOU BUILD
A FAST-FAILURE
FRIENDLY FIRM
if you are a manager or a leader
and you are now convinced that a bit
more failure would be a good thing for
your group
what do you do?
here are 5 simple, practical things that
you can do at any level of an organization
PRACTICE 1
Iterate Faster & Smaller
PRACTICE 1
Iterate Faster & Smaller
put in place a process to identify low-hanging opportunities where
failure is low cost & high return
PRACTICE 1
Iterate Faster & Smaller
do a bit of shot gunning with the results of the low-hanging fruit review.
Commission many small bets and let the dice roll
PRACTICE 1
Iterate Faster & Smaller
rewire your infrastructure/administration to support quick-iteration
(e.g.: annual budgets….really?!?!)
PRACTICE 1
Iterate Faster & Smaller
add "no-go" tollgates to avoid the basic human hard-wired tendency to
throw good money after bad
PRACTICE 1
Iterate Faster & Smaller
require business cases to identify minimum viable product features and
customer validation metrics from the start
PRACTICE 1
Iterate Faster & Smaller
define exit plans so that features (and applications) are designed for
easy decommission if they don't work
PRACTICE 2
Celebrate Failure
PRACTICE 2
Celebrate Failure
make sure that senior leaders celebrate great post-mortem learnings at
townhalls or team meetings
PRACTICE 2
Celebrate Failure
heck, have those leaders give out an award to the bravest or most
resilient failing team of the quarter
PRACTICE 2
Celebrate Failure
or at least, have them talk openly and broadly about the importance of
smart failure
PRACTICE 2
Celebrate Failure
at every level, use neuro linguistics such as, 'and versus but'
PRACTICE 2
Celebrate Failure
look outside the firm and do positive post-mortems on the mistakes of
competitors or other industry players
PRACTICE 3
Share & Learn from Failure
PRACTICE 3
Share & Learn from Failure
use a tool that helps you effectively share knowledge broadly – check
out Jive, or other Enterprise Social Networks
PRACTICE 3
Share & Learn from Failure
make sure all project leads learn how to effectively facilitate
retrospectives / post-mortems and make sure they do
PRACTICE 3
Share & Learn from Failure
publish retrospectives broadly
PRACTICE 3
Share & Learn from Failure
every year, circle back and review your library of post-mortems for
emergent themes
PRACTICE 4
Habitually Challenge the
Status Quo
PRACTICE 4
Habitually Challenge the
Status Quo
have a annual mechanism to challenge all wisdom that has stood for a
long time, especially during times of market disruption
PRACTICE 5
Hire & Train Sherlocks &
wackos
PRACTICE 5
Hire & Train Sherlocks &
wackos
make sure to hire some folks who are good at forensics
PRACTICE 5
Hire & Train Sherlocks &
wackos
and a few oddball outliers to introduce randomness and surprise
SMART FAILURE IS PROFITABLE
Characteristics of Smart Failures:
• Costs of failure are low and returns are high
• We can quickly determine we are failing so we can pivot
• We learn
LEGITIMATE FAILURES
• You lacked all the data but had to go
• You got unlucky with circumstance
• Low cost of failure & high returns
F@*K UPS
• Lacked due diligence before or during
• Failed to learn
• High cost of failure & low returns
WHY FAIL?
• Ensure that you keep striving
• Continue to be surprised
• Keep an open mind
• Stay humble
• Build empathy for others who fail
• Build confidence in your resilience
• Build practical recovery skills
• Make failure less scary &
embarrassing
MANAGERIAL BEST PRACTICES
• Iterate Faster & Smaller
• Celebrate Failure
• Share & Learn from Failure
• Habitually Challenge the Status Quo
• Hire & Train Sherlocks and Wackos
SHARE THIS DECK
& FOLLOW ME(please-oh-please-oh-please-oh-please)
stay up to date with my future
slideshare posts
http://www.slideshare.net/selenasol/presentations
https://twitter.com/eric_tachibana
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eric-tachibana/0/33/b53
CLICK HERE FOR MORE!!!!
Ad

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

PDF
Masters for inspire your students to learn like astronauts
Stefanie Cole
8 slides2.3K views
PPT
Week 3 intro to gamification
Bernie Dodge
40 slides476 views
PDF
12 surprising job interview tips
umarus5257
14 slides612 views
PPTX
Winter is Coming: Talent Wars
Next Jump
50 slides1.2K views
PDF
First Things: A Quick Guide to Starting a Team on the Path to Agility
jaredrrichardson
46 slides286 views
PDF
Hack your Motivation - full
Sylvain Abélard
16 slides968 views
PPS
Fail
ci95w
30 slides451 views
PPTX
Enchantment
Jack C Crawford
10 slides2.4K views
PDF
The 5 Stages of COVID-19-Related Redundancy Grief (and How to Overcome Them)
Sean Kearns
9 slides313 views
PDF
ADD & Technology: Why Procrastinate When You Can Be Productive?
Kickstart Strategy
46 slides2.5K views
PPT
How to Beat Procrastination - 30 November 2009
Optimal Usability
36 slides7.4K views
PPT
PROCRASTINATION POWERPOINT
Andrew Schwartz
13 slides65.4K views
PDF
Rosenberg's Rules. A checklist to success.
Lava Consult BVBA
54 slides1.5K views
PPTX
Overcome Procrastination
Bearkits
17 slides28.1K views
PPT
Taming Procrastination
Mary McD
29 slides4.8K views
PPT
Procrastination PowerPoint PPT Content Modern Sample
Andrew Schwartz
21 slides10.9K views
PDF
Taking smartrisks brian tracy
Fortunatus Ng'umbi
11 slides226 views
PDF
How to Become a Better Writer
Leslie Samuel
15 slides2.9K views
PDF
Why start a business in Singapore?
Kai Xin Koh
42 slides30.9K views
PPTX
11 Steps to Stop Procrastinating
rebecagm8
14 slides962 views
Masters for inspire your students to learn like astronauts
Stefanie Cole
8 slides2.3K views
Week 3 intro to gamification
Bernie Dodge
40 slides476 views
12 surprising job interview tips
umarus5257
14 slides612 views
Winter is Coming: Talent Wars
Next Jump
50 slides1.2K views
First Things: A Quick Guide to Starting a Team on the Path to Agility
jaredrrichardson
46 slides286 views
Hack your Motivation - full
Sylvain Abélard
16 slides968 views
Fail
ci95w
30 slides451 views
Enchantment
Jack C Crawford
10 slides2.4K views
The 5 Stages of COVID-19-Related Redundancy Grief (and How to Overcome Them)
Sean Kearns
9 slides313 views
ADD & Technology: Why Procrastinate When You Can Be Productive?
Kickstart Strategy
46 slides2.5K views
How to Beat Procrastination - 30 November 2009
Optimal Usability
36 slides7.4K views
PROCRASTINATION POWERPOINT
Andrew Schwartz
13 slides65.4K views
Rosenberg's Rules. A checklist to success.
Lava Consult BVBA
54 slides1.5K views
Overcome Procrastination
Bearkits
17 slides28.1K views
Taming Procrastination
Mary McD
29 slides4.8K views
Procrastination PowerPoint PPT Content Modern Sample
Andrew Schwartz
21 slides10.9K views
Taking smartrisks brian tracy
Fortunatus Ng'umbi
11 slides226 views
How to Become a Better Writer
Leslie Samuel
15 slides2.9K views
Why start a business in Singapore?
Kai Xin Koh
42 slides30.9K views
11 Steps to Stop Procrastinating
rebecagm8
14 slides962 views

Viewers also liked (20)

PPTX
What Is Failure
Jon Clayton
9 slides934 views
PPT
Learning from Failure - FAIL FAST
Wemanity, the Agile driving force
28 slides1.2K views
PDF
4 Keys to Growing an Audience
Sean McCabe
141 slides10.5K views
PDF
Doing What You Love
Sean McCabe
58 slides113K views
PDF
Elevate PowerPoint Deck Introduction - by @itseugenec
Eugene Cheng
12 slides13.3K views
PDF
Entrepreneur’s Connect Promotional Presentation by @itseugenec
Eugene Cheng
42 slides23.2K views
PDF
35 Lessons Learned in 35 Years
David Crandall
42 slides66.3K views
PDF
Pecha Kucha & Presentation Design by @itseugenec
Eugene Cheng
22 slides21.3K views
PDF
Creative SEO
Sean Si
269 slides4.3K views
PDF
How to Maximize Conversions Through SEO and CRO
Sean Si
126 slides4.2K views
PDF
The Art to the Start Of: Content Optimisation
Sean Si
72 slides3.5K views
PDF
How to get Content Perfectly Optimized for Users and SEO
Sean Si
59 slides5.1K views
PDF
Guide to Marketing on Mobile
Twenty20 Inc.
32 slides41.5K views
PPTX
3 Storytelling Tips - From Acclaimed Writer Burt Helm
Ethos3
25 slides429K views
PDF
Smile From Within 2 - Intro PowerPoint
Eugene Cheng
8 slides10.2K views
PDF
Death To Bullshit
Brad Frost
136 slides183K views
PDF
Quick & Dirty Tips for : Better PowerPoint Presentations Faster
Eugene Cheng
44 slides446.2K views
PDF
Our World is Hungry
Empowered Presentations
49 slides406K views
PDF
The Three Lies About Your Age
Sean Si
99 slides323.1K views
PDF
How to Use Social Media to Influence the World
Sean Si
148 slides381.7K views
What Is Failure
Jon Clayton
9 slides934 views
Learning from Failure - FAIL FAST
Wemanity, the Agile driving force
28 slides1.2K views
4 Keys to Growing an Audience
Sean McCabe
141 slides10.5K views
Doing What You Love
Sean McCabe
58 slides113K views
Elevate PowerPoint Deck Introduction - by @itseugenec
Eugene Cheng
12 slides13.3K views
Entrepreneur’s Connect Promotional Presentation by @itseugenec
Eugene Cheng
42 slides23.2K views
35 Lessons Learned in 35 Years
David Crandall
42 slides66.3K views
Pecha Kucha & Presentation Design by @itseugenec
Eugene Cheng
22 slides21.3K views
Creative SEO
Sean Si
269 slides4.3K views
How to Maximize Conversions Through SEO and CRO
Sean Si
126 slides4.2K views
The Art to the Start Of: Content Optimisation
Sean Si
72 slides3.5K views
How to get Content Perfectly Optimized for Users and SEO
Sean Si
59 slides5.1K views
Guide to Marketing on Mobile
Twenty20 Inc.
32 slides41.5K views
3 Storytelling Tips - From Acclaimed Writer Burt Helm
Ethos3
25 slides429K views
Smile From Within 2 - Intro PowerPoint
Eugene Cheng
8 slides10.2K views
Death To Bullshit
Brad Frost
136 slides183K views
Quick & Dirty Tips for : Better PowerPoint Presentations Faster
Eugene Cheng
44 slides446.2K views
Our World is Hungry
Empowered Presentations
49 slides406K views
The Three Lies About Your Age
Sean Si
99 slides323.1K views
How to Use Social Media to Influence the World
Sean Si
148 slides381.7K views
Ad

Similar to Building a fast-failure-friendly firm (20)

PDF
John Griffin, Ford Credit Europe. Normalising failure and making way for succ...
IT Arena
65 slides150 views
PPTX
Failing Forward: Designing Intelligent Failure
Marvin Dejean
42 slides183 views
PPT
Failure is an Option - Ben Yerxa, PhD - ChemE On Demand
ChEnected powered by AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers)
11 slides1.5K views
PPTX
Nurturing Failure: creating a risk-tolerant library culture that embraces cha...
Chris Sweet
38 slides2.4K views
PDF
Life after business failure: Recovering from and making the most of business ...
enterpriseresearchcentre
24 slides1.5K views
PPTX
Taste of Failure is Key for Sustainable Success
VSR *
17 slides1.3K views
PPTX
The benefits of iterative failure
Lauren Liss
39 slides556 views
PDF
From Failure to Success: How to Move Forward and Conquer Any Obstacle
civil hospital parasia
8 slides30 views
PPTX
Success and failure in Organisation Design
AnshumanSingh295
15 slides140 views
PDF
Failing forward
Bryan Daly
9 slides1.9K views
PDF
Failure Talk (Abridged)
Darryl Gray
65 slides551 views
PDF
Fail Forward, How to Turn Mistakes into Steps to Success
Alex Rascanu
31 slides8.1K views
PPTX
The benefits of iterative failure THAT conference 2018
Lauren Liss
44 slides1.2K views
PPTX
The F Word: Failure | June 2018
BeLeaderly.com
39 slides732 views
PDF
Fail fast fail often
Him Chitchat
47 slides235 views
PPTX
Learning From Failure Finish2
aigleazure
34 slides806 views
PPTX
Book report failing forward - am orseno
Gel_Orseno
34 slides1.2K views
PPT
Nurturing Failure: reconceptualizing library leadership to embrace change and...
Chris Sweet
28 slides363 views
DOCX
For your assignment this week, in 2-3 pages think of a work-relate.docx
alisoncarleen
8 slides12 views
PPTX
Jannie Haek Failing Forward 2016
StartUps.be
27 slides199 views
John Griffin, Ford Credit Europe. Normalising failure and making way for succ...
IT Arena
65 slides150 views
Failing Forward: Designing Intelligent Failure
Marvin Dejean
42 slides183 views
Failure is an Option - Ben Yerxa, PhD - ChemE On Demand
ChEnected powered by AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers)
11 slides1.5K views
Nurturing Failure: creating a risk-tolerant library culture that embraces cha...
Chris Sweet
38 slides2.4K views
Life after business failure: Recovering from and making the most of business ...
enterpriseresearchcentre
24 slides1.5K views
Taste of Failure is Key for Sustainable Success
VSR *
17 slides1.3K views
The benefits of iterative failure
Lauren Liss
39 slides556 views
From Failure to Success: How to Move Forward and Conquer Any Obstacle
civil hospital parasia
8 slides30 views
Success and failure in Organisation Design
AnshumanSingh295
15 slides140 views
Failing forward
Bryan Daly
9 slides1.9K views
Failure Talk (Abridged)
Darryl Gray
65 slides551 views
Fail Forward, How to Turn Mistakes into Steps to Success
Alex Rascanu
31 slides8.1K views
The benefits of iterative failure THAT conference 2018
Lauren Liss
44 slides1.2K views
The F Word: Failure | June 2018
BeLeaderly.com
39 slides732 views
Fail fast fail often
Him Chitchat
47 slides235 views
Learning From Failure Finish2
aigleazure
34 slides806 views
Book report failing forward - am orseno
Gel_Orseno
34 slides1.2K views
Nurturing Failure: reconceptualizing library leadership to embrace change and...
Chris Sweet
28 slides363 views
For your assignment this week, in 2-3 pages think of a work-relate.docx
alisoncarleen
8 slides12 views
Jannie Haek Failing Forward 2016
StartUps.be
27 slides199 views
Ad

More from Eric Tachibana (20)

PPTX
Intellectual property for entrepreneurs
Eric Tachibana
175 slides7.1K views
PPTX
7Vs and Business Model Validation
Eric Tachibana
16 slides3K views
PPTX
Key Person Risk and Succession Planning Workshop
Eric Tachibana
32 slides6.4K views
PPTX
Beautiful Song Lyrics
Eric Tachibana
22 slides13.7K views
PPTX
Advice for Corporate Accelerator Mentors
Eric Tachibana
45 slides4.8K views
PPTX
An Intro to the Financial Services Industry
Eric Tachibana
95 slides21.2K views
PPTX
Making the most of your start up mentor workshop - dbs hotspot accelerator
Eric Tachibana
11 slides2K views
PPTX
Corporate values conversation workshop
Eric Tachibana
13 slides2.3K views
PPTX
Rethinking Annual Performance as Workshops
Eric Tachibana
16 slides2.6K views
PPTX
Workshops that Work
Eric Tachibana
76 slides22.1K views
PPTX
Talent Planning Workshop
Eric Tachibana
20 slides2.4K views
PDF
What if Trump Won?!?
Eric Tachibana
7 slides2.7K views
PPTX
Kuala Lumpur CTO Summit - How to fire employees
Eric Tachibana
26 slides20K views
PDF
AWS_asset_configuration_management_whitepaper
Eric Tachibana
19 slides1.2K views
PPTX
Steal this idea - 10 Great Start-up Ideation Accelerators
Eric Tachibana
26 slides6.8K views
PPTX
Being on the board of directors - Why it sucks and how to improve it
Eric Tachibana
20 slides4.6K views
PPTX
Optical illusions
Eric Tachibana
37 slides4.1K views
PPT
Talent management strategy
Eric Tachibana
28 slides3.6K views
PPT
Social influence for startups marketers
Eric Tachibana
54 slides8.5K views
PPTX
Information wants to be free
Eric Tachibana
8 slides2.9K views
Intellectual property for entrepreneurs
Eric Tachibana
175 slides7.1K views
7Vs and Business Model Validation
Eric Tachibana
16 slides3K views
Key Person Risk and Succession Planning Workshop
Eric Tachibana
32 slides6.4K views
Beautiful Song Lyrics
Eric Tachibana
22 slides13.7K views
Advice for Corporate Accelerator Mentors
Eric Tachibana
45 slides4.8K views
An Intro to the Financial Services Industry
Eric Tachibana
95 slides21.2K views
Making the most of your start up mentor workshop - dbs hotspot accelerator
Eric Tachibana
11 slides2K views
Corporate values conversation workshop
Eric Tachibana
13 slides2.3K views
Rethinking Annual Performance as Workshops
Eric Tachibana
16 slides2.6K views
Workshops that Work
Eric Tachibana
76 slides22.1K views
Talent Planning Workshop
Eric Tachibana
20 slides2.4K views
What if Trump Won?!?
Eric Tachibana
7 slides2.7K views
Kuala Lumpur CTO Summit - How to fire employees
Eric Tachibana
26 slides20K views
AWS_asset_configuration_management_whitepaper
Eric Tachibana
19 slides1.2K views
Steal this idea - 10 Great Start-up Ideation Accelerators
Eric Tachibana
26 slides6.8K views
Being on the board of directors - Why it sucks and how to improve it
Eric Tachibana
20 slides4.6K views
Optical illusions
Eric Tachibana
37 slides4.1K views
Talent management strategy
Eric Tachibana
28 slides3.6K views
Social influence for startups marketers
Eric Tachibana
54 slides8.5K views
Information wants to be free
Eric Tachibana
8 slides2.9K views

Recently uploaded (20)

PDF
From Fossil to Future Green Energy Companies Leading India’s Energy Transitio...
Essar Group
9 slides91 views
PPTX
Chapter 3 Distributive Negotiation: Claiming Value
badranomar1990
50 slides25 views
PPTX
E-commerce and its impact on business.
pandeyranjan5483
12 slides15 views
PDF
ANÁLISIS DE COSTO- PAUCAR RIVERA NEISY.pdf
neisypaucarr
41 slides44 views
PDF
SMLE slides.pdf pediatric medical history
hananmahjoob18
162 slides25 views
PDF
ANÁLISIS DE COSTO- PAUCAR RIVERA NEISY.pdf
neisypaucarr
41 slides36 views
PDF
GenAI for Risk Management: Refresher for the Boards and Executives
Alexei Sidorenko, CRMP
19 slides248 views
PPTX
Andrew C. Belton, MBA Experience Portfolio July 2025
Andrew C. Belton
29 slides84 views
DOCX
Navigating Environmental Excellence ISO 140012015 Implementation in Pretoria....
Norocke Consulting
3 slides32 views
PPTX
Struggling to Land a Social Media Marketing Job Here’s How to Navigate the In...
RahulSharma280537
14 slides40 views
PPTX
Lecture on E Business course Topic 24-34.pptx
MuhammadUzair737846
46 slides96 views
PDF
NewBase 26 July 2025 Energy News issue - 1806 by Khaled Al Awadi_compressed.pdf
Khaled Al Awadi
24 slides33 views
PDF
Beyond HR: Human Experience, Business Psychology, and the Future of Work
Seta Wicaksana
26 slides151 views
PDF
A Study on Analysing the Financial Performance of AU Small Finance and Ujjiva...
AI Publications
11 slides30 views
PDF
Driving the Energy Transition India’s Top Renewable Energy Solution Providers...
Essar Group
9 slides43 views
PDF
Foundations Program Overview.pdfbbbbbbbb
martinpulpit
24 slides22 views
PDF
New Royals Distribution Plan Presentation
ksherwin
12 slides49 views
DOCX
Andrew C. Belton, MBA Resume - July 2025
Andrew C. Belton
2 slides94 views
PPTX
Integrative Negotiation: Expanding the Pie
badranomar1990
23 slides20 views
PDF
🚀 Mohit Bansal_ Driving Urban Evolution Through GMI Infra (1).pdf
Mohit Bansal GMI
3 slides20 views
From Fossil to Future Green Energy Companies Leading India’s Energy Transitio...
Essar Group
9 slides91 views
Chapter 3 Distributive Negotiation: Claiming Value
badranomar1990
50 slides25 views
E-commerce and its impact on business.
pandeyranjan5483
12 slides15 views
ANÁLISIS DE COSTO- PAUCAR RIVERA NEISY.pdf
neisypaucarr
41 slides44 views
SMLE slides.pdf pediatric medical history
hananmahjoob18
162 slides25 views
ANÁLISIS DE COSTO- PAUCAR RIVERA NEISY.pdf
neisypaucarr
41 slides36 views
GenAI for Risk Management: Refresher for the Boards and Executives
Alexei Sidorenko, CRMP
19 slides248 views
Andrew C. Belton, MBA Experience Portfolio July 2025
Andrew C. Belton
29 slides84 views
Navigating Environmental Excellence ISO 140012015 Implementation in Pretoria....
Norocke Consulting
3 slides32 views
Struggling to Land a Social Media Marketing Job Here’s How to Navigate the In...
RahulSharma280537
14 slides40 views
Lecture on E Business course Topic 24-34.pptx
MuhammadUzair737846
46 slides96 views
NewBase 26 July 2025 Energy News issue - 1806 by Khaled Al Awadi_compressed.pdf
Khaled Al Awadi
24 slides33 views
Beyond HR: Human Experience, Business Psychology, and the Future of Work
Seta Wicaksana
26 slides151 views
A Study on Analysing the Financial Performance of AU Small Finance and Ujjiva...
AI Publications
11 slides30 views
Driving the Energy Transition India’s Top Renewable Energy Solution Providers...
Essar Group
9 slides43 views
Foundations Program Overview.pdfbbbbbbbb
martinpulpit
24 slides22 views
New Royals Distribution Plan Presentation
ksherwin
12 slides49 views
Andrew C. Belton, MBA Resume - July 2025
Andrew C. Belton
2 slides94 views
Integrative Negotiation: Expanding the Pie
badranomar1990
23 slides20 views
🚀 Mohit Bansal_ Driving Urban Evolution Through GMI Infra (1).pdf
Mohit Bansal GMI
3 slides20 views

Building a fast-failure-friendly firm

  • 1. THE FAST-FAILURE FRIENDLY FIRM FAIL YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS http://www.flickr.com/photos/geyring/
  • 2. PROLOGUE WHY IT MATTERS
  • 3. Pacemakers Post-its Penicillin The Light Bulb The Microwave Corn Flakes Discovery of the Americas Kitty Hawk
  • 4. These were all failures that led to mondo ducats
  • 5. But, we shouldn't just say "Whoo hooo! Let's fail more!"
  • 6. Ideally, we should fail more, but fail smarter
  • 7. that means we want to fail when….
  • 8. 1. the costs of failure are low and the returns are high
  • 9. 2. we can quickly determine if we're failing, so that we can pivot quickly
  • 10. 3. we can learn effectively from the failure
  • 11. this presentation is about how managers can build organizations that can do that
  • 12. PART ONE WHAT IS FAILURE?
  • 13. let's first differentiate between failures and f@*k ups
  • 14. failures are legitimate mistakes
  • 15. It's a legitimate mistake when you…
  • 16. fumble because you lacked all the data, but had to move forward anyway
  • 17. made a reasonable bet, but got unlucky with circumstances
  • 18. invested in a low cost - high potential reward experiment
  • 19. f@*k ups are stupid mistakes
  • 20. It's a f@*k up when you…
  • 21. failed to execute due diligence before or during
  • 22. failed to learn from a legitimate mistake and repeated it
  • 23. invested in a high cost – low potential reward experiment
  • 24. PART TWO WHY FAIL?
  • 25. let's talk about 8 reasons why legitimate mistakes can be valuable
  • 26. REASON 1 Fail regularly to ensure that you keep striving Failure occurs when you stretch / grow yourself, because you are out of your comfort level. If you’re not failing, you’re likely not stretching. Explicitly track (and record) your rate of personal failures. Ensure 1 meaty screw up per quarter, or force yourself to move into personally uncharted waters.
  • 27. REASON 2 Fail regularly so that you continue to be surprised Surprise is a key to innovation because it reveals opportunities. It also stores valuable Return on Investment if you learn from it. Seek out Failure and aggressively run retrospectives (post mortems). Celebrate what you learn positively, widely, and publicly.
  • 28. REASON 3 Fail regularly to keep an open mind We are biologically predisposed to calcify assumptions & shy from cognitive dissonance. Shake things up before they can’t be dislodged. Compose a list of 10 things that you believed 15 years ago, which you now know are false, or at least, not quite right. Remember how sure you were.
  • 29. REASON 4 Fail regularly so that you remind the ego to stay humble The greatest danger of confidence is over confidence Find and listen to the album “Nothing’s Shocking” by Jane’s Addiction. It has nothing to do with this topic. It’s just a fraking good album.
  • 30. REASON 5 Fail regularly so that you build empathy for others who fail Most people fear failure because of how they think others will see them. It is peer pressure which makes us avoid what is innately good for us. Look around for someone who is currently failing and give them a shoulder to lean on. No questions asked. No judgements made.
  • 31. REASON 6 Fail regularly so that you build confidence in your resilience One of the reasons that it was so hard to shave my head bald for the Children’s Cancer Foundation Hair for Hope program was the worry that it wouldn’t come back. It did. Compose a list of 3 big mistakes you’ve made in your life thus far. Appreciate that you got through them and that they are not nearly so dire years later.
  • 32. REASON 7 Fail regularly to build practical recovery skills so that you get up faster & stronger next time ‘nuff said Go back to the retrospective you ran for Reason #2 and analyse the process after the failure rather than before. Identify 1 thing to improve with recovery next round.
  • 33. REASON 8 Fail regularly so that failure becomes less scary & embarrassing Once you train your brain to see failure as an opportunity, it will become one Find someone who has failed (and who may feel privately ashamed) and let them know personally that it’s no big deal.
  • 34. PART THREE HOW DO YOU BUILD A FAST-FAILURE FRIENDLY FIRM
  • 35. if you are a manager or a leader
  • 36. and you are now convinced that a bit more failure would be a good thing for your group
  • 37. what do you do?
  • 38. here are 5 simple, practical things that you can do at any level of an organization
  • 39. PRACTICE 1 Iterate Faster & Smaller
  • 40. PRACTICE 1 Iterate Faster & Smaller put in place a process to identify low-hanging opportunities where failure is low cost & high return
  • 41. PRACTICE 1 Iterate Faster & Smaller do a bit of shot gunning with the results of the low-hanging fruit review. Commission many small bets and let the dice roll
  • 42. PRACTICE 1 Iterate Faster & Smaller rewire your infrastructure/administration to support quick-iteration (e.g.: annual budgets….really?!?!)
  • 43. PRACTICE 1 Iterate Faster & Smaller add "no-go" tollgates to avoid the basic human hard-wired tendency to throw good money after bad
  • 44. PRACTICE 1 Iterate Faster & Smaller require business cases to identify minimum viable product features and customer validation metrics from the start
  • 45. PRACTICE 1 Iterate Faster & Smaller define exit plans so that features (and applications) are designed for easy decommission if they don't work
  • 46. PRACTICE 2 Celebrate Failure
  • 47. PRACTICE 2 Celebrate Failure make sure that senior leaders celebrate great post-mortem learnings at townhalls or team meetings
  • 48. PRACTICE 2 Celebrate Failure heck, have those leaders give out an award to the bravest or most resilient failing team of the quarter
  • 49. PRACTICE 2 Celebrate Failure or at least, have them talk openly and broadly about the importance of smart failure
  • 50. PRACTICE 2 Celebrate Failure at every level, use neuro linguistics such as, 'and versus but'
  • 51. PRACTICE 2 Celebrate Failure look outside the firm and do positive post-mortems on the mistakes of competitors or other industry players
  • 52. PRACTICE 3 Share & Learn from Failure
  • 53. PRACTICE 3 Share & Learn from Failure use a tool that helps you effectively share knowledge broadly – check out Jive, or other Enterprise Social Networks
  • 54. PRACTICE 3 Share & Learn from Failure make sure all project leads learn how to effectively facilitate retrospectives / post-mortems and make sure they do
  • 55. PRACTICE 3 Share & Learn from Failure publish retrospectives broadly
  • 56. PRACTICE 3 Share & Learn from Failure every year, circle back and review your library of post-mortems for emergent themes
  • 57. PRACTICE 4 Habitually Challenge the Status Quo
  • 58. PRACTICE 4 Habitually Challenge the Status Quo have a annual mechanism to challenge all wisdom that has stood for a long time, especially during times of market disruption
  • 59. PRACTICE 5 Hire & Train Sherlocks & wackos
  • 60. PRACTICE 5 Hire & Train Sherlocks & wackos make sure to hire some folks who are good at forensics
  • 61. PRACTICE 5 Hire & Train Sherlocks & wackos and a few oddball outliers to introduce randomness and surprise
  • 62. SMART FAILURE IS PROFITABLE Characteristics of Smart Failures: • Costs of failure are low and returns are high • We can quickly determine we are failing so we can pivot • We learn LEGITIMATE FAILURES • You lacked all the data but had to go • You got unlucky with circumstance • Low cost of failure & high returns F@*K UPS • Lacked due diligence before or during • Failed to learn • High cost of failure & low returns WHY FAIL? • Ensure that you keep striving • Continue to be surprised • Keep an open mind • Stay humble • Build empathy for others who fail • Build confidence in your resilience • Build practical recovery skills • Make failure less scary & embarrassing MANAGERIAL BEST PRACTICES • Iterate Faster & Smaller • Celebrate Failure • Share & Learn from Failure • Habitually Challenge the Status Quo • Hire & Train Sherlocks and Wackos
  • 63. SHARE THIS DECK & FOLLOW ME(please-oh-please-oh-please-oh-please) stay up to date with my future slideshare posts http://www.slideshare.net/selenasol/presentations https://twitter.com/eric_tachibana http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eric-tachibana/0/33/b53
  • 64. CLICK HERE FOR MORE!!!!