Try, try and try… and try and try some more.

Hi Everyone,

You may have heard a wise saying “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again.”  Somehow, this phrase re-surfaced into my consciousness as I facilitated a panel discussion around what it means to be a ‘Digitally savvy leader.’

My personal build to this phrase as it relates to digital is “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try… AND try and try some more, then decide.”  When asked what insight I can offer associates to help embrace digital, I anchor back to the belief that training in STEM gives us strong foundational strengths as a tailwind in Digital.  The caveat is knowing how to harness the wisdom from STEM principles while honoring what a healthy support model for Digital looks like.  And confronting the fact that while STEM creates foundational muscles in iterating, we often need to iterate a ‘few more’ times than what we’re used to before we cross the inflection point from perceived low value to higher value with digital solutions.

I recently found myself re-assuring colleagues on their progress in Digital as new pioneers.  Although I sensed disappointment in good faith efforts not landing ‘first time right’, I took the opportunity to celebrate their courage to learn and nurture permission to let go of internal feelings of self-doubt and disappointment.  I found in this example, the support boost was the antidote needed to reinvigorate another round of ‘try’s’ to move the opportunity further and ultimately push toward the value from the digital solution for the business. 

This exchange prompted a light bulb moment for me.  I had realized that most of us grew up in an education system designed around preparation – exam, preparation – exam.  This is a system designed around efficiency in sizing up the learning process on a rapid time scale.  Assessment of performance is framed around pressure prompted milestones.  Therefore, we are inherently trained to judge ourselves at time based milestones in an unconscious way.  And when this happens, it can impede personal progress and also not serve the mission at stake, which is ‘iterating enough’ to get the evidence we need to arrive at the finish line.  Sometimes, when we get to the finish line, the results may not be spectacular and sometimes they exceed our expectations.  It’s about getting to a point that delivers the business value, not how we feel at a pit stop along the journey which determines the outcome.  And thus, another favorite saying has surfaced for me.  “Digital is about iterating more than we’re used to.” 

I felt reassured hearing from other Digital leaders expressing similar sentiments and wisdom.  In order to navigate through the hype of Digital, we need to anchor to results as the center of the narrative.  This notion of holding business value as the center of gravity with curiosity as a driver for endurance and iterative learning serves as a unstoppable formula for digital success.

In year 4 of this Digital journey, I still find myself in moments of needing to practice self-compassion and remind myself to create space for a few more ‘try’s’ before calling a conclusion.  I hope this sharing gives others permission to be kind to themself in the digital learning process.  We all start somewhere and progress, in my opinion, is best measured by whether we can make things better than how we found them.

Till next time, be well.

Mike

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