Sometimes in business, it can feel like you have a headwind. 

Especially if you’re experiencing a string of failures.

In those moments, the constant knockbacks make you question how long you should persist before pulling the pin or switching strategies. 

As an entrepreneur, deep down you know that perseverance is your greatest asset.

And the only way to build that muscle is to endure the tough times. To embrace failure and use it to drive ‘good’ outcomes. 

But it’s easier said than done…

Recently our entire team tasted a dose of this when we set out to rethink and improve one of our most popular products - The Almond Croissant. 

We knew that suggesting a change would be met with resistance, but we also knew we had to try anyway because the product clashed with our values.

So we planned, tested, tasted, iterated, innovated and every other word that basically means we were freaken prepared.

But when the launch day came, the wheels completely fell off…

It wasn’t just one problem that we could simply apologise for and fix the next day.

It was a stack of failures all piled up like a steaming heap of… You get it.

So over the last few weeks, the entire team has been vacuumed into days and nights of rapidly innovating our way out of the mess we found ourselves in.

There were plenty of moments in there when I could have made the call to simply switch back to the original product we’d never had issues with.

And even though we did it for wholesale customers to make sure they had products to sell, we stuck with it in our own stores. 

Because I believe in the product and our ‘why’ behind it. 

In my mind, there was no returning to the old ways. 

So the only way out was to innovate our way towards a product our customers were happy with.

But I quickly realised that many of the team had never experienced that level of discomfort.

It’s natural to want to retreat to the comfort of something that works. 

Especially because that first moment when it went to shit was only the beginning.  

Every day for two weeks we faced:

• Product problems
• Negative feedback
• Internal comms battles
• Customer orders decreasing &
• Staff questioning wtf we were doing

It was brutal. 

But when you zoom out and look at this as an opportunity, your perspective shifts. 

Underneath all the pain, it’s that raw, heart-stopping feeling of getting something so wrong in public that fuels more innovation than anything else I know. 

Even though every part of you wants to fix it like you would help a child get up after a fall, you have to resist and trust that good people will find a way through it - Just support them and stay the course. 

In our case, the product we ended up with is so much better than the one we had planned at the beginning. 

And what's more valuable is, the learning outcomes for everyone involved.

This diagram sums it up beautifully:

Most people give up way too early.

In fact, the first sign of pain or negative feedback scares the absolute pants off them. 

They end up quitting before getting to the other side or abandoning a perfectly good idea because it didn't work the first time.

Here’s why you should lean in harder before you pull back:

1. Learning - Nothing helps you learn something more than the pain of failure. Painful experiences are critical for driving action and transformation. As long as you don’t let it stop you from making progress. 
2. Innovation - Getting something wrong in public often makes you feel like you have something to prove. As you push to make it happen the eventual outcome normally ends up better than if it went smoothly. 
3. Speed - Nothing drives change faster than pain does. When you’re making mistakes, the faster you rebound and iterate the better. Those who can fail fast normally succeed.

At the end of the day, you only fail when you stop.

People give up on their dreams way too easily these days.

And even though your tactics need to change often, you should rarely give up on your goal.

It’s all about maintaining your belief in the outcome.

I believed in this product so much that I was prepared to endure the pain to get there. 

You have to do the same or you’re always going to question your actions based on every tiny piece of negative feedback. 

Stick at it and have a great week.