If at first, you don’t succeed…

As BJ and I wandered around London between meetings last month, the following sign caught my eye in a shop – and has since adorned my office door:

If at first you don't succeed...

I rather like it. I take it not to suggest that one should behave dishonestly – covering one’s tracks – but rather to say that it’s OK to try things that don’t work out. When managing Proposal Centres, I’ve always taken the approach that to kick off (say) ten initiatives and see six of them work is marvellous – and likely to deliver far more benefit better than playing it safe and only trying a couple of new things. The secret is to focus on the things that do work – and to be realistic that a few initiatives may not make much headway, without feeling any ongoing sense of shame at having failed.

My wife Vic, incidentally, hates the sign. After photographing it for the blog, I rather sadly took it down and buried it in a desk drawer. If anyone out there wants it sending to them, just leave a comment to that effect here – and I’ll post it on to the first person who does so.

This article was written by Jon and filed under Musings. If you found it useful, you can with others. To receive automatic updates, subscribe to The Proposal Guys via RSS or Email.

6 Comments »

  • Kacie Temling says:

    I do! Simply because I love following The Proposal Guys and anything proposal-related! I promise to send photos of it’s new home in Dallas Texas!

  • Reema says:

    hey, check your reply to the newletter – it just came out and I responded immediately that I want it toooooooo!

  • Jon says:

    Kacie – email me your address (jw@strategicproposals.com) and the sign will wing its way across the Atlantic. Well done on being first.

    Reema – sorry you just missed out!

    Lisa – glad you liked the sign :-)

  • Ruth Turman says:

    Congrats Kacie!

    You know, Jon and BJ, this would make a great item for a “Proposal Related Gift Shop” at the conference in Denver. I’m sure there are all sorts of things out there that the rest of us would love to have to “decorate” our proposal centers. I’d be willing to consider letting you guys have sole distribution rights to my “Proposal Survival Kit” and the “Proposal Ouija Board” (sorry, but the “Instant Proposal Hole” is still in development).

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