Space X’s launch of it’s latest rocket last week was noteworthy.
In case you missed the launch or, more likely, missed the press coverage of the launch, here’s what happened.
Space X was launching a huge rocket, in fact it was the biggest rocket to be launched to date. There was a lot at stake with this project which is an understatement.
Without getting into all the technical details, which are not even remotely in my field of expertise, the rocket launch was perfect, until 4 minutes into flight.
Then things went south as the saying goes. Things started happening that weren’t supposed to happen and the rocket began flying erratically off-course and the rocket’s safety system, a self-destruction program, took over and exploded the rocket.
The flight was over long before it had any chance of fulfilling it’s mission.
A total failure – or was it?
Not to Elon Musk. He immediately sent out a message congratulating his team and called the launch, a “classic successful failure.”
That’s leadership!
If we’re moving ahead and trying new things in science, business or any part of life, we are going to have setbacks.
Setbacks are an inevitable part of life.
It’s how we view them that counts.
We tried something new and it failed, or did it. Is our “failure” a reason to stop and never try again? Or is it a sign that we are on the right course?
Successful people move ahead despite the setbacks.
Successful leaders create an environment that encourages risk-taking and makes it emotionally and mentally safe for their team to take risks and fail in their attempts.
When Elon Musk congratulated his team and kept a positive perspective on the situation he made it safe for them to continue on the project. He motivated them to figure out what went wrong and correct it. He inspired them to a higher level of excellence.
There is a great lesson here for all of us in the business world.
Remember, you only get results when you take immediate action on your ideas.
