Monday, August 26, 2013

Failure as Feedback

Failure isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes it can be the best thing that can happen to you. Failure teaches you things that success cannot. Here is a prime example. Do you remember "New Coke?" If you don't, here's a recap. In April 1985, Coca-Cola announced they were changing the formula. Keep in mind that Coke was the best selling soft drink in the world at the time. But they wanted to take a risk. Bring something new to the table. Well, "New Coke" went over like a lead balloon. Once word got out that the formula was changing, people started hoarding cokes, protest groups formed across the country, and the company was receiving 1500 calls and countless letters a day. Within 3 months, Coca-Cola brought back the old formula. Coca-Cola continued to sell the  "New Coke", but it eventually went the way of the dinosaur. In the process of analyzing the biggest blunder in company history,  they learned some valuable lessons. They learned that their customers liked the old formula just fine. They recognized that to continue to give the customers something they didn't want, would lead to disaster. They also learned that new doesn't always mean better. But, most importantly, when they saw the mistakes that were made, they didn't curl into the fetal position. They used the feedback they received, changed course, and came back as strong as ever. You can do the same thing, too.

Its always good to try something new and different. It may not always work out. If it doesn't work out, examine the situation. Why didn't it work? Did you need a stronger marketing campaign? What feedback did you get from your customers? Do you need to keep going in the same direction and make some minor adjustments? Do you need to change course completely? Only you decide what actions to take next. But never waste a failure. Learn from it and move forward.





Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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