The Virtue of a Short Memory

I was watching a little football on Monday night, and one of the Minnesota Vikings players made a mistake, then went right back out and covered in almost exactly the same way (minus the mistake). The announcers said the player had a "short memory" and commended him for not being afraid to make the play because of fear of failure.

So this got me to thinking: One of the big problems in corporate America is that we don't have short memories. We don't forget our mistakes, and we let them affect the fervor with which we approach similar tasks or projects. We fear failure to the point that we'd rather not try, often saying things like, "This will never happen because so-and-so won't approve it" or "This won't work because our technology isn't strong enough to support it."

Another aspect is our "coach". The Vikings player had the confidence to go out and make the same mistake because he knew his coach would have his back. Our supervisors and leadership should foster an environment where trying new things is lauded, not derided.

Let's use our elephant's memory in our corporate workspace to remember what professional athletes never forget: It's okay to make mistakes. Keep trying. Success will come.