The Alternative Change Lifecycle

Have you heard of the Change Lifecycle?

Well, let me introduce the FAILURE lifecycle.

Because we need to talk about failure. Especially now.

I've spoken to a lot of people so far in January, and you know how the conversation goes, 'Yeah, how are things with you?', 'Yeah not bad. Steady start to the year'

But with some people, you can see it in the eyes, the flash of worry as they look away, the hesitancy in their voice, that says 'things aren't great and could be a lot better, please stop asking'.

People who are trying lots of different things, in a rapidly changing business environment, but they are not working.

⭐⭐⭐YET⭐⭐⭐

I came up with the 'Failure Lifecycle' because (top secret), I found out that running the monthly Wellness Walks for Mountain Boardroom is HARD.

⛰️ Planning them is FUN
⛰️ Talking about them feels GOOD
⛰️ Taking people out and watching them visibly release the stress they are holding is FULFILLING
⛰️ Introducing people who have never met before, who get on like the best of friends and then swap business cards for future collabs feels INCREDIBLE

But getting to the point where I had a monthly event was hard and I FAILED a lot (and honestly, I still do now sometimes) ❌❌❌

❌ Walks I've had to cancel because most people pulled out
❌ Walks that just weren't very popular, because of dates/times/locations
❌ Walks that just weren't very popular. Full Stop.

And then having to cancel them, feeling like I wanted to go and hide with my tail between my legs is the WORST🤦

Failure is ugly. It does not feel good. It stops us being bold. It makes us want to give up. It stops us trying next time.

The thing is, all too often we see it as a straight line:

Try ⛰️
Fail ❌
CRASH ⚡
BURN 🔥
Hide 🛌
Give Up 🤷

But what if it is a teacher, a cycle, something to help us iterate, refine what we are doing, and inch towards that time when it works? When we find success?

What if it looks like this:
Try ⛰️
Fail ❌
CRASH ⚡
BURN 🔥
Extinguish 💧
Rise 🌅
(repeat) 🔁

I don't think business is all about the good ideas, the loudest voices, the most money and the big staged pictures of success.

It's all about learning to FAIL, learning to manage it well, and developing the SKILL of working out how to stand up again.

And deeper than that, it's about learning how you react when things get ugly, how to look after yourself when everything is crashing, what you need to do (and who you need around you) to pick yourself up, and how you apply the lessons in the next cycle.

Maybe failure is back in fashion. It is going to take some time to tweak what you do and find a path that works. But hang in there.

Keep at it.

Get good at failing.

Learn how to look after yourself through the process.