“It’s OK to be wrong; it’s unforgiving to stay wrong.” – Martin Zweig
There are few things more painful than a failed enterprise between family or friends. Even the best of ideas can be off center, ill timed or unmatched to the true need and it takes something to step up to the microphone, admit you were wrong and move on.
The important thing, I’ve found, is to avoid the debilitating situation that many create for themselves by refusing to bury the dead. In my experience all projects have a life cycle. Some last longer than others, but when they’ve run their course the law of diminishing returns comes quickly into play. Some end with a pat on the back and others, with a kick in the rear.
At a certain point it becomes obvious to all who are sufficiently sensitive that at a certain point adding more energy to sustain a project yields less per unit of input. Excessive quantities of input can eventually even reduce the total yield, resulting in what economists call “negative returns.” Holding on to such things because “that’s how we’ve always done it around here” or “we can’t imagine it any other way” is a fool’s errand.
There are numerous opportunities for productive, generative living and you must be careful not to get overly weighed down by holding on to the various forms you have built around you. Make the adjustments required with as little ado as possible and you will conserve energy where it would have been previously wasted. Do so consistently and you will find yourself in position to receive the fresh opportunities coming your way in each and every new moment.
“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” – Wayne Gretzky
Gregory Hake 
One reason for failing to address a faiing venture is the rather strange unwillingness to learn from the experience. At the very least, a failure can provide valuable information for the instigation of new ventures, but one has to take a good look, note well the lessons to be learned, and then move on without further backward glances!
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Yes your timing is perfectl Your words allow for graceful transitions if heeded. Onward and upward!
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Timely post, though I can’t imagine a time these points wouldn’t be timely. Thank you!
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Timing is everything. Ha!
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Great points! And I can totally relate especially to being in businesses that involve family – can be particularly challenging…and you’re right, sometimes it’s best for everyone involved to simply move on and bury the past.
Always loved that Gretzky quote!!
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It really embodied his playing style, didn’t it! Thanks for your comment Brad and keep up the good work.
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Another quote is “know when to hold them and know when to fold them” by Kenny Rogers in The Gambler. Yes, it is a movie and he is talking about the game of poker. However, in my experience I have noted that the same suggestion chould apply to numerous other activities as well, not the least of which is the involvement with projects.
It is presumed that projects are being created to increase value to the market that one serves. That is an absolute necessity if a company is going to be as successful as they are capable of becoming. It stands to reason that a certain percentage of those changes will succeed, and that a certain percentage of them will fail. The key is to recognize early on those that are going to fail and end them sooner than later. That is easier said than done as egos (likely the same egos that generated the project/change to begin with) get involved.
Another quote, this one from Tom Peters in his book “Passion For Excellence” – “a company needs to be right at least 51% of the time to be successful”. That leaves a lot of room for mistakes – again, the key is to recognize the mistakes early on and end them once it is discovered that the project will not be successful.
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Great quotes and what is wrong with poker? Haha.
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I love this quote by Charles Schulz, “Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.” Learning how to use all the gears we’ve been blessed with will ensure change. Learning to let go is a skill to aquire!
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I look at it as the natural state, which is muddied by the learned tendency to cling tenaciously to the past and give it more weight than it deserves.
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The economic climate of the last four years has certainly highlighted this plight for many businesses. Prior to the recession they perhaps had more cash to syphon to the worsening endeavor, after 2008 there was no more bail out. (except if you were deemed “to big to fail” by the politicians). Looking at the outcome of that debacle supports this thought. When something has out lived it’s usefulness or is proving to be faulty it’s time to change. Often politicians are so afraid to be seen as “flip flopping” they’ll stick with something they’ve put out there even if it brings the country to the brink of disaster. Let’s yell it to the world. CHANGING YOUR POSITION IS NOT A SIGN OF WEAKNESS!!!!!! Great post.
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If your life is faithful to the central principles of truth, you will maintain flexibility in heart and mind that others more zealous lose over time. The application of those principles can and must change over time. Change is the only certainty.
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Great point on living in the present – staying focused, vigilant and flexible to the newness of life. This is especially so today where the world is changing with unprecedented speed, and much stress and hardship can be avoided by embracing this era’s signature rhythms.
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Really great points – so useful not only for business, but for every aspect of our lives. There’s no sense in continually investing your resources into a failing or stale venture!
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And where you write “venture” you could also substitute the words: approach, way of viewing things, sense of self, and more!
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I have noticed before that people sometimes do not want to take the time to analyze their situation. They’re living their life on autopilot, and no matter how bad it is they just will not take the time to figure out their next move. You have to be constantly looking to find the next opportunity within the project you’re working on or a new opportunity in the next project coming down the pipe. If you’re not constantly thinking this way you will always be missing the boat, doomed to live a life that is not as successful as it could be.
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