A Secret to Greater Productivity: Fail Better
Samuel Becket wrote, ““Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again, Fail again. Fail better.” But what does it really mean to fail better? And what can it mean for your productivity?
One way to fail better is by reaping the most benefit from obstacles, challenges and the times you find yourself coming up short. It means to use failure for maximum benefit to improve yourself — but it doesn’t necessarily require making massive change. If you make a habit of leveraging failure to identify and implement small enhancements in future performance, you will have failed better.
Kaizen is a process of continuous incremental improvement. Translated from Japanese, it means change for better. The term first gained widespread recognition in the automobile industry when it emerged as a core principle of the Toyota Production System (TPS), developed between 1948 and 1975. TPS was described by the company as a “framework for conserving resources and eliminating waste.”
TPS helped Japan manufacture some of the most reliable cars in the world at the time and by 1975, Toyota overtook the popular German Volkswagen as the top auto import in the United States. Kaizen was even reflected in its popular slogan — Always Something Better.
Adopting kaizen as a life practice can help you achieve greater productivity success in everything you do. Make course corrections whenever you face an obstacle, but also use problems as opportunities to make at least one small improvement.
Failure is merely a pivot point, a signal to move in another direction. Don’t make avoiding failure your top priority. Excessive risk avoidance be an express lane to mediocrity. Instead, strive to grow with every failure — to “fail better” each time.
- Didn’t close the deal? Read tips on making a more persuasive pitch.
- Disappointed your spouse? Figure out one small thing you can do daily to help make themfeel more valued and appreciated.
- Fall off the healthy eating wagon? Stock of on healthy snacks so you wont’ be so easily tempted next time,
- Did you blow your budget with an expensive impulse purchase at the mall? Resolve to
- you have in your wallet.
- Get stuck with a pricey home repair bill because you didn’t perform necessary maintenance tasks? Set a recurring reminder on your smart phone to avoid the problem in the future.
Learn more about kaizen and how you can use this principle to achieve greater balance — and productivity — in your life by downloading Branches Productivity. Take one small step toward living your best life by getting the free guide today.
