5 Oct 2009
Learning from big losses
Last Friday, Chicago lost its bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games . It was a huge disappointment to the city, and a large group of people who dedicated vast amounts of money and effort the past few years to try to win the difficult Olympic bid process. In the aftermath of the crushing defeat (surprisingly, in the first round of eliminations) there has been a lot of speculation on the reasons. The analysis has focused on the global “politics” of the process , as many of the pundits believe the loss had little to do with the actual quality of Chicago’s bid.
In this case, Chicago may have been a victim of politics, but this situation has brought back vivid memories of the important business defeats I have been involved in. In the aftermath of these losses, the people involved were angry and they often placed the blame everywhere but inside the organization. Unfortunately, we usually missed an opportunity to learn from the situation. Let’s be honest…. bids are lost, customers leave, and businesses falter for very specific - and often avoidable - reasons. If I had collected a dollar every time someone blamed irrational competitors, a flawed selection process, or the ”politics” within the customer’s organization, I might be able to attend these 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Big, disappointing losses are exactly the time to reflect on what really happened, and make the changes necessary as indicated by the loss. When you lose business because of price, is it really because your competitor is desperate and irrational - or is your cost structure out of line? When a long-time customer leaves you for another vendor, are they showing an incredible lack of loyalty – or did you lose track of what they really want or need? When you lose in a bid situation, is it because of the politics within the selection committee - or did you miss the mark with your proposal?
We learn more from our failures than from our successes. Although I don’t think Chicago will try to get the Olympics again anytime soon, the rest of us can learn from a big loss. The next time your business suffers a crushing defeat, don’t allow the organization to blame everyone else… and don’t waste the opportunity. Get the team together, examine the situation and figure out what actually happened. You’ll have a chance to address the problems and move on to the next battle… and you might not get blindsided again.
We often tell clients that
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If you own or run a small business you can surely relate to the character in Greek mythology – 



