Fail Fast

As an Arkansas Razorback fan, I recently listened to an interview with legendary basketball coach John Calipari, and his unique approach to coaching top-tier players caught my attention. Given his reputation, Calipari consistently attracts some of the best talent to his teams—athletes who are often considered the cream of the crop.

However, with such high-caliber players comes a distinct set of challenges that most coaches rarely encounter. Calipari is acutely aware of this. To quickly bring his players to a coachable state for the rigors of college basketball, he emphasizes one surprising yet effective mantra: “Fail fast.”

He understands that these elite athletes could dominate at the high school level using strategies and techniques that simply won’t work in college. They’re now up against a much higher level of competition. The moves and tricks that once set them apart will be less effective against seasoned college athletes.

Calipari’s principle is simple: he wants his players to confront this reality quickly. He encourages them to attempt their old tactics right away so they can see firsthand that those methods no longer work. By “failing fast,” they can shed old habits and jumpstart the learning process for the college game. Knowing that these star players may only be part of his team for one or two years, Calipari’s goal is to maximize their potential as swiftly as possible.

This concept is not only applicable to sports but also highly relevant in business. Sometimes, it’s better to identify a failure quickly, learn from it, and pivot sooner rather than later. When you recover and move on swiftly, failure ceases to be a setback and becomes part of a valuable learning process for future success.

?Happy Serving!