Michael Jordan and Failure

When it comes to our personal learning and coaching others, it is critical to stay in the “Learning Zone” as much as possible.

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Maximum benefit comes from pushing the outer limits of the learning zone into the panic zone where you will fail. 

Failing Does Not Mean You Are A Failure. Quote: I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. Michael Jordan.

Fail 9 Times to Succeed

Learn from Failure - Black Box Thinking

What is critical is to NEVER consider yourself a failure just because you fail. You can never allow your self-worth to get tied up into either your successes or failures. You must ground your joy and self-worth in the journey and the people who are on that journey with you.  

From a coaching standpoint, know that most people will associate failure with being a failure. Your role as a coach requires that you help people separate those two things in their minds, always reminding them of the benefits of learning from failure.  

Providing extremely specific and rapid feedback -- while coaching that this is information only -- is the key to building people faster.

How comfortable are you pushing yourself to failure?  




The Journey (Length, Complexity, Ambiguity, and Guardrails)
Nearly everyone can get in their vehicle and drive to a destination at the end of a two-lane road. No single person can look at open land, select a place to build a city, build that city, build the infrastructure including roads, and build the vehicles.
Prioritize and Execute
You are simultaneously building a construction project, a construction company and a career in construction. There will always be more problems to solve and potential opportunities to explore than you have the resources for.
Production Tracking - Lessons Learned
Look at productivity as a daily “Jar” where your objective is to pack as much “Earned Value” into it as possible. Look at your costs in three major categories and focus on tracking what matters the most.