Robert I. Sutton makes a very compelling point in offering that one of the most telling elements to the culture of a company or organization is the answer to the question, "What happens to people when they fail?"
This was brought up in the course "Converting Strategy into Action" taught by Johann Lindig. Sutton maintains that fear can paralyze people into inaction, or simply focusing on how not to expose what may appear to be failures rather than moving towards an actual goal.
Just about nothing in dance is possible with trying and failing, usually multiple times. One of my favorite stories is told by former New York City Ballet principal dancer Melinda Roy. She recounted that during her days as a corps dancer (read: ensemble dancer, those who work tirelessly and are not front and center in the show) she had her first chance to take to the floor.
Just about nothing in dance is possible with trying and failing, usually multiple times. One of my favorite stories is told by former New York City Ballet principal dancer Melinda Roy. She recounted that during her days as a corps dancer (read: ensemble dancer, those who work tirelessly and are not front and center in the show) she had her first chance to take to the floor.
"It was my chance; my moment to shine," she smiled, but each time Mr. B (George Balanchine, arguably one of the greatest choreographers of our time) sent her back, saying she wasn't giving enough. After the umpteenth try, she was starting to get annoyed. "... So the next time, I came plowing across the floor and I slipped and fell, right at his feet. I looked up at him and said, 'Is that it?' and he said, 'Yes, dear, that was it!'" I love the grin on Ms. Roy's face when she finishes her tale.
A rule in dance is to make sure that whatever you do, make sure you end it well. It doesn't matter how many turns you pulled off if you botched the ending. The ending is what the audience remembers. Cruel, but true. I believe this applies to anything, including the office. If you reach your goal, despite a few wonky developments that you then took care of, I'd hope it would still be considered a success.
So where am I going with this? In dance you're almost expected to fail before you get something. In the corporate world, it doesn't seem to be that way. Even though we may not have ever done something before, we're expected to get it right pretty close to toute suite. "Fail early and fail often" can be touted but how often is it a reality? To be sure, dancers need to "get it" after a reasonable amount of time, but it's ok to fail at first. Unless we are in an environment in which we know we can try things, we will never be able to fly off the ground, whether in the dance studio or in the office.
A rule in dance is to make sure that whatever you do, make sure you end it well. It doesn't matter how many turns you pulled off if you botched the ending. The ending is what the audience remembers. Cruel, but true. I believe this applies to anything, including the office. If you reach your goal, despite a few wonky developments that you then took care of, I'd hope it would still be considered a success.
So where am I going with this? In dance you're almost expected to fail before you get something. In the corporate world, it doesn't seem to be that way. Even though we may not have ever done something before, we're expected to get it right pretty close to toute suite. "Fail early and fail often" can be touted but how often is it a reality? To be sure, dancers need to "get it" after a reasonable amount of time, but it's ok to fail at first. Unless we are in an environment in which we know we can try things, we will never be able to fly off the ground, whether in the dance studio or in the office.
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