What he wanted to happen did not happen. Again. He had been at it for a couple of months and the project, which was supposed to last three or four months, was now in its eighth month.
It was not the first time that what he expected to happen did not happen. It was the 487th time. Many would have given up long ago, but he kept going because the vision was clear. The belief that it will work was strong.
Then one day, another six months later, it happened. He succeeded! There the result shone before him in the way he had always seen in his mind.
– Mr. Edison, says the reporter, how does it feel to have failed a thousand times in your efforts to create this?
– Oh, no, sir, you are quite wrong. I have not failed a thousand times, but I have developed this bulb in a thousand controlled steps.
Thomas Edison had a clear idea of what he wanted to achieve and he had a good method to follow to develop the light bulb step by step.
There were certainly many times that he doubted the project. If I look at myself, this usually happens just when I see that something I am working on is not succeeding, again. What is important is the ability to quickly mourn this defeat and then put it aside to move on.
The same goes for you and your improvement efforts:
- It will take longer than you first thought.
- You will encounter problems that you did not foresee.
- You need to overcome these setbacks to move forward.
As long as your vision is clear to you, what you want to achieve, you can keep working. One step at a time.
As long as you take the next step in the right direction, towards your vision, you are on the right track. Do not give up. Don’t be discouraged by temporary setbacks. Keep going forward and upward. It is the only way to get where you want to go.
Also, make sure you have a well-developed methodology for working on your improvement efforts, as this will give you the way forward. You never have to worry about what to do next. Follow the method.
With that, I wish you a week full of small steps in the right direction.
Matts
PS.
What he wanted to happen did not happen. Again. He had been at it for a couple of months and the project, which was supposed to last three or four months, was now in its eighth month.
It was not the first time that what he expected to happen did not happen. It was the 487th time. Many would have given up long ago, but he kept going because his vision was clear. The belief that it will work was strong.
Then one day, another six months later, it happened. He succeeded! There the result shone before him in the way he had always seen in his mind.
– Mr. Edison, says the reporter, how does it feel to have failed a thousand times in your efforts to create this?
– Oh, no, sir, you are completely wrong. I have not failed a thousand times, but I have developed this bulb in a thousand controlled steps.
Thomas Edison had a clear idea of what he wanted to achieve and he had a good method to follow to develop the light bulb step by step.
There were certainly many times that he doubted the project. If I look at myself, this usually happens just when I see that something I am working on is not succeeding, again. What is important is the ability to quickly mourn this defeat and then put it aside to move on.
The same goes for you and your improvement efforts:
It will take longer than you first thought.
You will encounter problems that you did not foresee.
You need to overcome these setbacks to move forward.
As long as your vision is clear to you, what you want to achieve, you can keep working. One step at a time.
As long as you take the next step in the right direction, towards your vision, you are on the right track. Do not give up. Don’t be discouraged by temporary setbacks. Keep going forward and upward. It is the only way to get where you want to go.
Also, make sure you have a well-developed methodology for working on your improvement efforts, as this will give you the way forward. You never have to worry about what to do next. Follow the method.
With that, I wish you a week full of small steps in the right direction.
Matts
PS. Do you need help? Would it be of interest to meet with the management team of your business, where we can talk about fundamental issues for the success of an improvement initiative and what it could look like for your business? Contact me today
