How to Minimize the Cost of Being Wrong.

There’s a terrifying subject every leader goes into denial about. Maybe it’s the un-knowable ripple effect or the accidental impact that locks us up or the fact it seems like the song that NEVER ENDS…   or we wish we’d never STARTED…

So… let me solve it for you real quick…  Here’s the secret… Don’t  BE  WRONG….  

And if that doesn’t work, stick around and let’s talk about what it takes to MINIMIZE the COST of being wrong…  cause that’s where most of us are coming from.  

If you’ve only got a minute, here’s the cliff notes. 

·        The ripple effect is cascading. Don’t be wrong about the reality of the ripple.

·        Good things take time. Don’t be wrong about the timetable you’re using.

·        It’s not just about you. Don’t be wrong about the seed you’re planting.  

·        In moments of chaos, people revert to their training. Don’t be wrong about what you’re training. 

I’ve been ranting about the Lies of Circumstance for a while now. The book (“Circumstances Lie”) is nearing a painful conclusion. The revisions are staggering. The path is trampled with loops that simulated progress, but took me back where I started. 

Determining the cost of being wrong might fuel that circumstantial conversation, or it might be the jaw-dropping observation that tic-tac-toe isn’t a winnable game. That’s how leadership can feel at times.

What happens when you KNOW you’re going to be wrong occasionally (on the path to being right), but the cost of being wrong seems like the national debt? 

               Do you blow it off as part of the process? 

               Does it create endless loops in the decision-making process that drag you down?

No wonder the guy with one talent (in the bible) buried it in the ground. Do YOU know what to do with the opportunity staring you in the face as a leader?  

I’m not gonna lie. It’s staggering. The ripple effect represents real people.

Where am I going? Is there a valuable takeaway in the next 5 minutes? 

I think so. 

Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell you to ‘fail forward’ or ‘fail faster.’ I think I understand those visuals, but buzzwords haven’t been the key to implementation for me. The first lie of circumstances is the erosion of my foundation (and yours).

Since everything is built on a foundation of some sort, that’s the ONE THING you can’t afford to get wrong.

Maybe your framework won’t be completed or sharpened to perfection any time soon, but for heaven’s sake, don’t build it on the WRONG foundation.  

Being wrong about the foundation puts every resource you’ve invested at risk.

Great leaders don’t get everything ‘right’, but they build on the right foundation. Replacing one interior wall is different than discovering a cracked and unstable foundation. 

Here's the voice of experience:

·        You can’t build on individual, superstar players, even if they’re you.

·        You can’t build on market sentiment. It has a history of reversing course.

·        By the time you mimic what someone else did, it’s already wrong.

You were designed to create something exciting and durable but don’t forget to :

-         “Consider the Cost” and

-         Build it on a good foundation.

The cost of Being Wrong is heavily leaning on the foundation you’ve chosen.  

What is the foundation of your leadership? 

Leadership failure begins with an unclear definition of success. 

A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.

I know you can’t be in business if you can’t make money. We get it. But making money won’t build a foundation that lasts.

My dad used to say,

“it’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how you play the game.”

After a brief pause, he’d always continue…

“But, if you’re losing, you’re not playing the game very well.” 

He wasn’t talking about sports. He was coaching me about the process of leadership and the insignificance of always being right and winning every argument.

Vince Lombardi is fabled to have begun training camp by showing the team what a football looked like and retraining the basics of blocking and tackling. John Wooden is remembered for teaching his new players how to properly tie their shoes. Both are revered as high-impact leaders who changed the lives of their players AND who became legendary coaches with consistent winning records. 

How do you determine the cost of being wrong? 

You measure it in the clarity, the unity, and the pride of your people. 

It’s seen in the functionality of team DNA as the parts of the body hinge a living, breathing being with a magnificent spirit capable to perform, adapt and survive.

Going for the momentary WIN that erodes the foundation you’re building will always result in wasted time and resources you're unable to draw on in the future.

Trust and vision are replaced by apathy and eye-rolls.

Opportunity loss is felt the deepest when you’ve lost the opportunity to compound the development of the people you’ve been trusted to lead. It’s not an aha moment. It’s the creation of a practice zone environment where it’s safe to train and fulfill a destiny that brings clarity of execution WITHIN the Chaos.  

That’s how you minimize the COST of being wrong. Provide a place where you and your people can get it wrong in the practice zone first. 

How you train is how you’ll perform when the heat is on.

Greg Yates

Want to establish your own Practice Zone environment and get total Buy-In from your people. Text YATES to 474747 or Visit www.noheadtrash.com and let’s talk about accelerating your results through the Practice Zone. 

Greg is a business owner, speaker, podcaster, best-selling author, and coach who helps people move past circumstance to calling, beyond brokenness to breakthrough. Greg Believes that "Circumstances Lie" about what's possible and that brokenness is the opportunity for Breakthrough in your life, your business and your people. 

A keynote speaker in businesses and churches, Greg hosts the No Head-Trash Podcast and a Facebook group called, “The No Head Trash Nation” , and leads The Practice Zone Mastermind, a small group forum where leaders connect as trusted advisors to grow in every area of life and leadership.  

Greg is the International Best-Selling author of

·        Broken – how being broken unlocked the greatest success of my life

·        Overcoming the 10 Common Fears all leaders face.

·        The Breakthrough – a leadership fable breaking through the 4 barriers that hold teams back

·        A Journey of Significance – the Story of Albert Diepeveen – a successful leader, mentor and friend who taught him to move from Success to Significance. 

… and the exciting release of his 5th book, titled “Circumstances Lie”, ‘The 5 Lies about defining moments, vulnerability, and the power of your story to change the world.’