They had been on a winning run for the last 4 games.

Then today they had a 0-3 loss.

They weren’t happy.

Taking inspiration from Nelson Mandela’s quote, I said to them, “𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.”

Then, I asked each one of them, “𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆?”

I think it shifted their perspective.

Losing happens in sports and business.

I have always learned more from things that didn’t work.

The key, I find, is to be curious as to why. Where did I miss the mark? What can I do to be better next time?

Also, a key is to not be afraid to lose. If you’re afraid, you’ll never try in the first place.

In our business, we are always testing new approaches for our clients. Some work, some don’t.

If it doesn’t work, we just ask ourselves, “𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀?”

Business has often felt like two steps forward and one back, but we are moving forward, and always on the pitch playing the game.

How do you deal with a loss or a ‘test’ that doesn’t work?