Nobody likes to fail – it’s disappointing! However, the only way for an organization to improve is for its individuals to build resilience – an ability to bounce back from disappointment with information to influence the next attempt.

1. Stacia Viscardi, CST, CEO AgileEvolution, Inc.
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Failagility
The Business of Imperfection

2. Stacia Heimgartner Viscardi
ca
2003 67 failagility
100s
19
2
1000s

3. I bring you lessons learned from
• Trial and error
• Situations, Stuff
• Mistakes and calamities
• The trough of despond
• The Ordinary and Mediocre
• Broken Ribs and deep Introspection
… all super exciting, eh?
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4. 2015 2016 2017
My “inspiration”

5. A Tale of Onyx
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6. Dressage – 720 combinations (at least)
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7. Failure:
The Ego Death Star
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9. It’s all about the dopamine, baby…
• Care enough to learn the lesson, yet…
• Failure is a routine
• Move on to creating the next high
• Counter failure with success!
Let’s win:
We are dopamine junkies
– let’s do it again!
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10. Why do we fear failure?
• It hurts. Literally.
• I’ve never done this before!
• Judgment from others – and from ourselves!
• I want to fit in!
• Aversion to emotional sadness or turmoil
• Chemistry
• Piling on
• Other negative consequence
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11. Fear
Fear of Failure:
The Ego Death Star
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12. Avoid? Over-plan?
Or build failagility?

13. Business Agility
“The ability to adapt quickly and effectively to
all forms of change to deliver maximum value
and customer experience.” – Mike Beedle
Mike Beedle, 2017
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It takes people!

15. Enabling Failagility:
Performance Reviews, Fear, and Maslow
?
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16. Does this encourage risk-taking?
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17. Learned Helplessness
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18. The World is Complex
a LearningOrganization increases complexity of mind
Evolving identities, comfortable
working with authority of others;
seeks meaning, serves
Identity not tied to particular role, “the
evolving self.” Understand things from
many different perspectives.
Self-Transforming Mind
Status quo thinking
Responses based on peer or societal
pressure
External validation drives sense of self
Social Mind
Question expectations and values;
explore other thoughts and feelings
Fit the narrative – hear and see what’s
desired
Self-Authoring Mind
58%
1%
35% Adapted from Immunity to Change: How to Overcome it… Kegan,
Robert and Lahey, Lisa. HBR Press, 2009.
Social Authoring Transform
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19. Enabling Failagility:
Eustress or Distress?
Source: Berin Loritsch www.ironstrong.org
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20. Failagility is necessary when gambling
The organization must sense the problem space and reprioritize its responses
accordingly.
This is an ongoing activity as the problem space is emergent in nature.
Now
Three months from Now
A Year from Now
Possible solutions
(dynamic)
Problems to Solve
(dynamic)
Budget
User Conference
Retail seasonCompetitor x
Competitor y
Timeframes
(stable)
Quality
Brand
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21. Adapted from Virginia Satir
Enabling Failagility:
Provide vision and remove impediments
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23. Enable Failagility
An organization is only as fast and
agile as its longest
feedback/recovery cycle.
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Failagility: Agility in failure. The ability to influence new boundaries
and outcomes while in the trough of despond.

24. 5127
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25. Customer
Organization
Team
Self
Remove the roadblocks to fearless experimentation
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26. Be able to see the impact QUICKLY
Dept 1 Dept 2 Dept 3 Dept 4 Dept 5
Departmental dependencies KILL.
How may we improve when we
can’t see what to improve?
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27. Failagility
How to enable it
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29. Certified Failure Practitioner CFP™
• Certification lasts for lifetime
• Exam after this keynote
• Your role: go create other CFPs - people
comfortable in their abilities to fail… and
learn.
• Congratulations! You’re among the first
recognized failures in the world!
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