It Is Not A Mistake: It’s An Opportunity!

There are no mistakes. This is a foundation principle of iPec, the coaching program where I was certified, and most people bristle at this statement. I absolutely love it.

You are going over in your mind all the mistakes you have made in the last day, week, month, or year aren't you?. In fact, you may be perseverating (my new favorite word) over the mistakes considering yourself unworthy based on the outcome. Judgment is omnipresent when a mistake happens. Most people go into a powerlessness, victim mentality and need to sit in their pity party for a bit before they bounce out. And the more it happens, the longer it may take to bounce out. And the more hyper-vigilant you are, the more likely you are to never try that thing again for fear it would again turn into a mistake.

But what makes them a mistake in your mind? Their outcome? But did you know that would be the outcome? People's reactions? Did you know that would be their reactions?

I would suggest that, in most cases, you made the best choice with the information you had in hand and the amount of time you had to make the decision at the moment you made the decision. Did you think it was a mistake then? Unlikely.

More likely is that after you saw the outcome, you judged your choice and labeled it a mistake. It is only with hindsight that we label it a mistake. What are some other ways you can label it?

• A learning opportunity. You may actually learn how to do it better next time so the same undesirable outcome isn’t achieved. When we had repeatable processes at work, we used each iteration as a means to learn to improve the next time. Most entrpreneurs fail. According to Expoding Topics, first-time small business owners have a success rate of 18%. Business owners who failed in the past have a slightly higher startup success rate of 20%. In the world of entrepreneurship, setbacks are often viewed as stepping stones to eventual success. Many accomplished entrepreneurs fail before business success becomes part of their story.

• A door to a new opportunity. What new doors does this mistake open? Take the post-it note. Per wikipedia, In 1968, Spencer Silver, a scientist at 3M in the United States, attempted to develop a super-strong adhesive. Instead, he accidentally created a "low-tack", reusable, pressure-sensitive adhesive for the aerospace industry. For five years, Silver promoted his "solution without a problem" within 3M both informally and through seminars, but failed to gain adherents. In 1974, a colleague who had attended one of his seminars, came up with the idea of using the adhesive to anchor his bookmark in his hymn book. The original notes' canary yellow color was chosen by chance, from the color of the scrap paper available at the lab next door to the Post-it team

(See the notes at the end of this post for other successful pivots after “mistakes”.)

So how can you turn your “mistakes” into opportunities?

When you find yourself ruminating over a mistake the first thing to do is to ask yourself, what did I learn here? What would I do differently next time?

The best way to do this is to do a retrospective on the work?

• What would you still do next time?

• What would you start doing that you didn’t do?

• What would you not do next time?

There is a belief system that since you tried something before and it ended up as a “mistake”, you won’t ever do that again and I strongly discourage this course of action. Try it again, but change the channel. Change what you did to adopt the new, continue the good, and eliminate the bad and try again. And don’t be afraid to try again. Remember, you are making the best choice given the information you have.

If you find yourself stuck in a thought loop because of a mistake you made, coaching may be for you. Schedule a free coaching discovery call to explore how coaching can help you make the transition you desire.

Other Examples Of Successful Pivots After Unsuccessful Endeavors

Twitter: Originally a podcasting platform called Odeo, they pivoted to become a media platform centered around microblogging, leading to their massive success.

Instagram: Started as a location-based check-in app called Burbn, but after recognizing the popularity of its photo-sharing feature, it pivoted to become the widely used photo-sharing social media platform we know today.

Wrigley: Mr. Wrigley Jr. sold soap and baking powder. He got the idea of offering free chewing gum with his purchases, and the gum proved to be more popular than his actual product.

Ford: Henry Ford’s first venture, the Detroit Automobile Company, failed due to high costs and low-quality products. His second company also struggled. However, Ford persisted and founded the Ford Motor Company. He revolutionized the automobile industry with the Model T and the assembly line method.