"Few of our own failures are fatal," economist and Financial Times columnist writes in his new book:

Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failure.

 

Which I loved so much I will copy the whole article down here to remember. 

 

According to Adapt, "success comes through rapidly fixing our mistakes rather than getting things right first time." To prove his point, Harford cites compelling examples innovation by trial-and-error from visionaries as varied as choreographer Twyla Tharp and US Forces Commander David Petraeus.

I interviewed Harford over email to dig deeper into the counter-intuitive lessons ofAdapt. What follows is a series of key takeaways on the psychology of failure and adaptation, combining insights from our conversation and the book itself.

The Wrong Way To React To Failure
When it comes to failing, our egos are our own worst enemies. As soon as things start going wrong, our defense mechanisms kick in, tempting us to do what we can to save face. Yet, these very normal reactions -- denial, chasing your losses, and hedonic editing -- wreak havoc on our ability to adapt.

Denial. "It seems to be the hardest thing in the world to admit we've made a mistake and try to put it right. It requires you to challenge a status quo of your own making."

Chasing your losses. We're so anxious not to "draw a line under a decision we regret" that we end up causing still more damage while trying to erase it. For example, poker players who've just lost some money are primed to make riskier bets than they'd normally take, in a hasty attempt to win the lost money back and "erase" the mistake.

Hedonic editing. When we engage in "hedonic editing," we try to convince ourselves that the mistake doesn't matter, bundling our losses with our gains or finding some way to reinterpret our failures as successes.

 

We're so anxious not to "draw a line under a decision we regret" that we end up causing still more damage while trying to erase it.

 

 

The Recipe for Successful Adaptation
At the crux of Adapt lies this conviction: In a complex world, we must use an adaptive, experimental approach to succeed. Harford argues, "the more complex and elusive our problems are, the more effective trial and error becomes." We can't begin to predict whether our "great idea" will actually sink or swim once it's out there. 

Harford outlines three principles for failing productively: You have to cast a wide net, "practice failing" in a safe space, and be primed to let go of your idea if you've missed the mark.

Try new things. "Expose yourself to lots of different ideas and try lots of different approaches, on the grounds that failure is common."

Experiment where failure is survivable. "Look for experimental approaches where there's lots to learn - projects with small downsides but bigger upsides. Too often we take on projects where the cost of failure is prohibitive, and just hope for the best."

Recognize when you haven't succeeded. "The third principle is the easiest to state and the hardest to stick to: know when you've failed."

 

The more complex and elusive our problems are, the more effective trial and error becomes.

 

 

How To Recognize Failure
This is the hard part. We've been trained that "persistence pays off," so it feels wrong to cut our losses and label an idea a failure. But if you're truly self-aware and listening closely after a "release" of your idea, you can't go wrong. Being able to recognize a failure just means that you'll be able to re-cast it into something more likely to succeed.

Gather feedback. "Above all, feedback is essential for determining which experiments have succeeded and which have failed. Get advice, not just from one person, but from several." Some professions have build-in feedback: reviews if you're in the arts, sales and analytics if you release a web product, comments if you're a blogger. If the feedback is harsh, be objective, "take the venom out," and dig out the real advice.

Remove emotions from the equation. "It's important to be dispassionate: forget whether you're ahead or behind, and try to look at the likely costs and benefits of continuing from when you are." 

Don't get too attached to your plan. "There's nothing wrong with a plan, but remember Von Moltke's famous dictum that no plan survives first contact with the enemy. The danger is a plan that seduces us into thinking failure is impossible and adaptation is unnecessary - a kind of ‘Titanic' plan, unsinkable (until it hits the iceberg)."

 

Being able to recognize a failure just means that you'll be able to re-cast it into something more likely to succeed.

 

 

Creating Safe Spaces to Fail
Twyla Tharp says, "The best failures are the private ones you commit in the confines of your own room, with no strangers watching." She rises as 5:30 AM and videotapes herself freestyling for 3 hours each morning, happy if she extracts just 30 seconds of usable material from the whole tape. This is a great example of a "safe space to fail." But many of us don't have this luxury of time or freedom. So how do we create this space?

Practice disciplined pluralism. Markets work by this process, encouraging the exploration of many new ideas as well as the ruthless weeding out of the ones that fall short. "Pluralism works because life is not worth living without new experiences." Try a lot of things, and commit only to what's working.

Finding "a safe space to fail is a state of mind." Assuming that you don't operate a nuclear power plant for a living, you can probably infuse a bit more freedom and flexibility into your workday. Give yourself permission to test out a few off-the-wall ideas mixed in with the by-the-book ideas.

Imitate the college experience. "College is an amazing safe space to fail. We are experimenting with new friends, a new city, new hobbies and new ideas - and we'll often mess up academically and socially as a result. But we know that as long as we don't screw up too dramatically, we'll finish college, graduate, and move on - that mix of risk and safety is intoxicating. Yet somehow as we grow older we lose it."

 

The above is soooo right as we here at goAugmented are finding out as we experiment with mobile Augmented reality applications - not all of them are right. In fact, most are wrong - but after reading this we can see why :)

Interesting to to be in it - the Smarta 100

An Analysis of the winners. Which is interesting - as we are one of them @goaugmented (www.goaugmented.com) - the augmented reality company I help.

This year’s Smarta 100 provides a fascinating snapshot of UK small business today: a cross-section of ingenious new ideas, individuals seeking self-employment after redundancy, the innovators of the cloud and crowd and the fast-growth big businesses of tomorrow.

From the weird and wonderful world of non-spill potties, pillows for long-distance lovers and non-tooth pulling toffee, to market changers like crowd-powered wine dealer Naked Wines, parcel innovator MyParcelDelivery.com and fast-growing retailer WedgeWelly, innovation and entrepreneurship are alive and well in Britain.

Many of this year’s winners have triumphed through adversity. Take Camille Johnson, who set up Pink Ribbon Lingerie after her mother’s experiences struggling to find attractive mastectomy lingerie. Or Mark Buschhaus and Stephen Barnes, who used their £20,000 redundancy pay-off from Woolworths to set up toy retailer Toy Barnhaus, now turning over £1.4million from three stores.

Proving the crucial role small businesses have to play in the future recovery of the UK economy, Smarta 100 revenues total over £65,000,000 with an average turnover of £692,000. They’re contributing more to the nation’s coffers than they’re borrowing too, with over half (51%) entirely self-funded.

One in five has taken private investment; seven used a bank loan to start-up. Five sought funding from friends and family, two were invested in by larger companies, one was entirely crowd-funded and two won investment on TV’s Dragons’ Den.

On average, they are three years and two months old. They employ a total of 740 people, with 9% employing a staff of more than 20. Smarta 100 businesses tend to be running lean operations however, with a growing shift to virtual teams and networks of freelancers – 79% employ fewer than 10 people and 68% fewer than five.

The Smarta 100 also tells us about the people behind Britain’s brightest small businesses. This year’s winners are 55% male, 45% female, aged between 18 and 52 with an average of 33. In case you were wondering, 25% of them are either a Virgo or Libra zodiac sign – with only two Sagittarians!

Which I find really interesting. As a Piscean. And due to this article coming out today:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/children_shealth/8741380/Month-a-baby-is-born-suggests-what-career-they-will-have.html All about when you are born and what you are more likely to do statiscally.

Nice. Anyhoo - great news for us at goAugmented - augmented reality mobile specialists in Manchester.

Just recieved this - and made me think - especially as reviving my love of NLP today.

While global financials freefall and everyone else panics, you have a huge asset which can produce growth rates that will leave most stock traders green with envy, if you manage it right.

That asset is your mindset. Your IP [Intellectual Property] and how you master your emotions are your strategic advantage and part of the key that will secure you during this economic turmoil. Unlike shares and investing, there's no downside risk. Everything positive that you feed your mind with you can NEVER Lose - and the upside normally ranges from a 100% to 10,000% return on your investment, regardless of the economy. Get that in a bank?!

So the first priority is to protect any assets you have. In this economy it doesn't mean insuring them or paying them down, it means something entirely, controversially different.

Strength in a tough economy depends on having a Rhino thick skin, staying focused and completely ignoring the mass media. We urge you to make this a priority in these uncertain times. Here are 6 highly effective ways to do it:

1. Don't get sucked into the negativity. It isn't the reality, it is only a perception and something to sell papers and brainwash society. You can disprove any mass theory in 10 seconds flat - it's not real and it only serves to cannibalise your wealth.
2. Invest more. Now. Your friends and 'social advisers' will think you're nuts. Pull money out of every asset you have, even if that asset has reduced, use other people's money and pile it into undervalued asset classes such as property and stocks, and be greedy while others are fearful [You know the quote, right?]
3. Build Your Brand. Now is the time to shout when everyone else is hiding. Leverage the lack of competition and get known. Turn your education in yourself into cash. Stand up and be counted. Lead. Educate, inspire and give others belief while no one else has the brass.(you can do this with great marketing sic which is why I am building a workshop called BrandMe)
4. Invest in your education. You need resilience and toughness in these times, but you also need strategies too. Most people stop spending and therefore actually go backwards. When you invest and learn, you have double the edge on your competition. The best companies actually increase their marketing in a downturn while everyone else cuts spend. You are a heavyweight.
5. Market & Advertise. Newspaper rate cards are dirt cheap. Less leaflets are getting sent out and publications will drop their pants for you. [pants= rates :-)] Increase your advertising spend and take a greater lion's share of the customers you'd never normally see.
6. Raise non standard, non bank finance. Banging your head against the brick bank wall, begging for money will get you nowhere in this economy. Find private investors, JV partners and more liquid commercial facilities. Get fast money with no application process and no arrangement fees. 

Most of these things people stop in a recession, and pray for survival until 'things get better'.

Don't pray this one out. Get out there and grab your best chance for 15 years.

Interesting isn't - of course, they are selling something - but perhaps something I might be going to.

Who knows - strange days cause for strange behaviours :)

Read a great article on what it takes to be a leader - from the ground up.

Hmmm perhaps this is why things are stalling - time for some personal development.

Read a great article on what it takes to be a leader - from the ground up. 

I need to work on from 7 to 10 :)- What about you?

1. Be your authentic self. Don’t try to be someone that you are not. Other people quickly see through this façade, and lose respect. Find the good in difficult situations or personalities. Work on improving the real you, rather than building a better façade.
2. You have to like yourself first. Don’t expect others to like you if you have a bad self-image. Practice positive self-talk using genuine accomplishments to pave the way for authentic productivity and success. Absorb the new approach and make it real.
3. Perception is reality. How you perceive others is your reality about them, and the same is true for them of you. It is far easier to make a good first impression than to change a bad one. Likability is leaving people with positive perceptions.
4. Exude energy in all your actions. What you give off is what you get back, and your own output can energize other people or deflate them. Channel your authentic energy to be genuine and likable, even when faced with difficulties and challenges.
5. Curiosity never killed a conversation. Showing genuine curiosity about a person’s job, life, interests, opinions, or needs is the best way to start a conversation, keep it going, and make you likable. Check for matching needs for help rather than demanding help.
6. Practice listening to understand. If you want others to understand and like you, you have to understand them by truly listening to what they are communicating. Don’t forget that good listening is done with you eyes and other body language, as well as your ears.
7. Show people how you are like them. Look for common interests and backgrounds, shared experiences and beliefs, to find similarities that can help you build connections with other people. People like people who are like them.
8. Create positive mood memories for other people. People are more apt to remember how you made them feel than what you said. It’s hard to be likeable when you intimidate people, practice insensitivity, or otherwise make them feel uncomfortable.
9. Stay in touch and remember connections. Showing genuine curiosity about a person’s job, life, interests, opinions, or needs is the best way to start a conversation, keep it going, and make you likable. Stay in someone’s mind to make them comfortable.
10. Give something without expecting a return. There are countless ways to give freely to others, including making introductions, sharing resources, doing favors, and giving advice. What goes around comes around.
11. Have patience, don’t expect benefits from every contact. Likeable people don’t demand value from every interaction. Stay open to the possibility that results may take time, and come in ways not obvious today.

You see its now all about LOSOPHOMO.

You see its now all about LOSOPHOMO.

 

Lo – location, so – social, pho –photography (and any use of the camera) and mo – mobile.

Let’s start with why this is an advertising revolution.

As Seth Godin rightly points out back in the day of mass consumerism so we got mass advertising, you didn’t really have to care about the demographic, only a few people controlled the channels of communication – you had money – you had a product – you paid for advertising – after a while people got the message – they bought your product.

You bumped in one message into the masses and by repetition and a lack of options people simply bought (that and it was a different time and so people loved buying new stuff for the sake of it.)

Now – we don’t have this luxury. Your customers are hit with 1000’s of advertising messages a day, they are savvy consumers, wise in the world of marketing, most of them (74%) don’t even believe the advertising they see. They are internet linked in, socially connected, potential brand assassins. They have a dropping level of attention, they know more and more, they want things that are relevant not to just their demographic but to them personally. They want instant gratification. They can take or leave your products and brands – this is the reality of the consumer society – the consumer has the power.

Into this society we bring marketing. We bring digital marketing. We bring greatmarketing. We have to change with the times, we need to produce promotions that will persuade, and we must add value in our advertising. This is LOSOPHOMO.

     

It is all LOSOPHOMO and then some – which is a new way of understanding the next level of the advertising revolution.

Something happened today. Nothing too major but got me thinking. About values and goals.

Something happened today. Nothing too major but got me thinking.

And so I decided to think and link today to this article about values and visions. 

Written by a chap called Richard - it's nothing about "greatmarketing" per se - but it is about great business.

No matter how big or small your business is without a clear vision of where you are going owners and directors often fall into the classic trap of just managing from day-to-day.

Envisioning, the ability to see into the future and imagine how things could be, is as important for success as having real passion for the business and the determination to create something new.

These three personal qualities of leaders are vital for successful companies and a vision statement, sometimes called “a picture of your company in the future”, but it’s so much more than that.  Your vision statement is your inspiration, the framework for all your strategic planning. A vision statement may apply to an entire company or to a single division within that company.

The vision statement answers the question, “Where do we want to go?”

What you are doing when creating a vision statement is articulating your dreams and hopes for your business. It reminds you of what you are trying to build. A vision statement is for you and the other members of your company, not just for your customers or clients.  Visionary goals should be longer term and more challenging than strategic goals.

Collins and Porras describe these lofty objectives as "Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals." These goals should be challenging enough so that people nearly gasp when they learn of them and realize the effort that will be required to reach them.

Most visionary goals fall into one of the following four categories:

1. Targeted - quantitative or qualitative goals such as Nike: "To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world" “If you have a body, you are an athlete.”
2. Common enemy - focused on overtaking a specific firm, becoming the number one in that sector, such as Amazon: "Our vision is to be earth's most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online."
3. Role model - to become like another in a different industry or market, the mirror role, Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) "Right from the beginning, I said I wanted to be more famous than Persil Automatic”.
4. Internal transformation – creating internal vision, GE set the goal of “Becoming number one or number two in every market it serves”

While visionary goals may require significant stretching to achieve, many visionary companies have succeeded in reaching them.

Once such a goal is achieved, it needs to be replaced; otherwise, it is unlikely that the organization will continue to be successful. The second most dangerous place for a company is to have achieved its only goal, the most dangerous place is never to have had one. Simple steps to creating your vision, ask some simple questions:

• What will our business look like in 3 to 5 years from now?
• What new things do we intend to pursue and how?
• What future customer needs do we want to satisfy?

Write the answers down and focus on developing them into a coherent, motivational and purposeful message which can connect with everyone. 

Then Question:

• Does our vision statement provide a powerful picture of what our business will look like in 3 to 5 years from now?
• Is your vision statement a picture of your company’s future, which everyone can interpret into their role?
• Does it clarify the business activities to pursue, the desired market position and capabilities you will need 

If your statement answers these questions then you have a vision worth owning and sharing. A vision must be motivational to everyone inside an organisation.  The classic apocryphal story to demonstrate the effectiveness of great visions is about the time President Kennedy visited NASA. During one trip he came across a cleaner sweeping the warehouse floor, and asked him what his job at NASA was. The cleaner replied “My Job is to put a man on the moon, Sir.”

Now I don’t know if the story is true, but it’s inspiring. In a facility full of high-powered individuals and great minds, even the cleaner was completely on board with the strategy. While you may not be planning to put a person on the moon, we can learn a lot from the story. It may sound ridiculous, but every business needs to be a little like NASA.    Great visions can create an unstoppable company

 Every organisation needs to have a clear goal, owned by everyone inside and outside it. An owned and shared vision creates and sustains great morale and internal strength for companies, which can become a powerful and unstoppable force in any market no matter how competitive.

What happened today with goAugmented -  a client which specialises in mobile augmented reality solutions -  was the opposite of that, the opposite of great marketing and a big mistake which we will learn from and move forward with.

With goAugmented we want to change the way the world of marketing is percieve and recieved in the NW and beyond. Just like Steve Jobs and Apple - we want to make a HUGE difference. (A link to a great article here)

We just want to do it with mobile augmeted reality - something both Apple and Steve Jobs know a lot about. Perhaps we should learn lessons from them as well :)

And perhaps even better timing for this - the Start up Project.