How much of your working life causes you pain?
I ran the city to surf this year, more accurately, I made the city to surf my annual jog - and paid for it in the same way most things get paid for when you're unfit - in pain.
I was out of my depth. I didn't train. I turned up on the day and did the best I could with what i had and got what I deserved - 90 minutes of pain that are sure to be followed by a week of reminders.
It made me think back to my first couple of IT sales engagements. I walked off a building site literally weeks before them and was clearly out of my depth in every way. Clients regularly poked holes in my knowledge and sent me packing. It left me feeling pretty worthless and raised all kinds of questions. Mostly it made me wonder just what the hell I was thinking when I agreed to this job.
Two and a half years on, it's a different story. I'm well read, well studied and I know enough that when I admit I don't know something it's a small thing.
A large number of the things that have caused me pain in my working life came down to things that I didn't know, hadn't done before or misinterpreted when I got there. These were almost all avoidable - and I cant see myself making the same mistakes again because I've experienced the pain that goes with the failure.
Avoiding the second failure is mostly a matter of experience. The reason most senior executives are 40+ years of age is simply because at that age they've failed often enough that they will read most situations correctly because they've either had the failure themselves and made it through, or seen someone else make the same mistake.
Seeing someone else make the mistake can also be a matter of education. It's no coincidence that case studies are a major focus for some of the best business schools. If you've read many good management you've probably noticed that they generally follow a simple formula - they back every principle with a case demonstrating a situation in which it was effective.
The case study is a form of failure - it's helping you fail forward so that when you reach a point where the principles involved become relevant, you will recognize it and act accordingly. It's not as effective as having the failure yourself, but it's the next best thing - and far less soul destroying.
Next year I'm going to train for the run, I'm going to spend at least 3 months training specifically for the event - failing forward with the specific aim of enjoying the event. I'm not waiting around for it though, training is a habit that you build on every day. It's the same in every part of life and there's a chance that if it's not going well, you haven't trained.
Next time you fail, face a painful situation or get forced to really put in a super hero level of effort, ask yourself a few questions - Did you train? Are you failing forward effectively? Or are you just turning up on race day, hoping you can tough it out?
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