Three weeks ago, I read a very honest—and heartbreaking—post from a woman in London whose inspiring early-stage company was calling it quits. About two years ago, she committed to solving the workplace burnout issue. She was chosen to be part of a prestigious accelerator program, built a pilot, secured early seed funding, and gained early adoption from a G500 corporation.
Here’s an excerpt:
Friends,
I had considered leaving quietly through a side door. No fuss. No big LI post. No spotlight on my decision.
But that would be cowardly. More importantly, it would be disrespectful to the hundreds of generous souls who supported me on my startup journey. To everyone who never hesitated to share your time, wisdom and experience; thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m forever indebted to you. You know who you are. 💜
Flink Works is in the freezer. For now. Ultimately there is insufficient evidence that there is a big enough market. Also, any #hrtech that could sit in the talent mobility vertical is now full of brilliant platforms, far better positioned to reimagine jobs whichever way the customer demands…
LINKEDIN POST BY JENNY VARLEY
JULY 2022
Jenny’s LinkedIn post hit a nerve and reflected a very uncomfortable reality:
When we tell innovators, change agents, transformation leaders, and teams in charge of moving into new territory that failing is noble, and failing fast is good strategy, we’re ignoring the sad truth:
Premature project demise stings and we’d do anything to avoid it.
Unfortunately, sometimes that fear holds us back from trying new things. We secretly hope that the “other person” will be picked to lead an initiative in unfamiliar territory.
So that we can stick with what we know.
Other times, we feel tension from the other side of our emotions. Instead of regret over sticking our necks out, we face the regret of having chosen the status quo. In that mindset, we experience the gnawing discomfort of playing it safe and wish that we were in a position to lead innovation more confidently.
It’s as if we can’t win—either we face the RISK of imminent danger of failing if we DO innovate or we accept the fate of knowing we’ve settled if we DON’T.
Multiply the anxiety over innovation times ten if you’re on a team inside a corporation, a small company, or a public organization, where the majority of what’s expected and what’s rewarded comes from, solid operations, dependable products, smooth logistics, and a no-surprises relationship with your customers.
Suddenly you’re asked to pioneer a novel solution or attack a challenge in a refreshing way and the excitement of the honor is outweighed by the dread of potential failure.
That’s exactly what happened midway through a healthcare innovation cohort at one of the leading research institutions. The talented team hand-picked to create a new product discovered that even though their technology seemed to be game-changing, the insurance reimbursement system put up so many hurdles that the team ran out of steam and came up empty handed.
We say “it’s all about the learning–keep your chins up”, but to be in the shoes of a team whose early stage project turns up short creates a haunting feeling of uncertainty, of not having done enough, of being dependent on things seemingly outside of your control.
The heartbreak of failing fast is the dark side of innovation. We don’t talk about it, because we’ve glamorized innovation so much for the past few years that it’s almost impolite to mention. But the truth is, with statistics stacking up about the 80% of companies that are dissatisfied with innovation and the 90% of companies that say how desperately they need innovation, it’s time to come clean, and it’s time to finally tackle our fears.
Could all of this have possibly been avoided? The answer is: likely.
- With an approach that engages collaborators early in the processing
- With a strategy focused on participation from a diverse group of stakeholders
- With a foundation of rapid learning
- With an activation mindset to get people in gear
Get To Next is a system and process built for modern times that removes obstacles to the evolutionary process that every company must embrace or eventually become irrelevant.
Get To Next solves the pain of premature project demise.
