Recently, I was asked "In your career, what is your most impressive accomplishment?" After some serious thought and banter back and forth, my answer was "streaking to the quad." As you can imagine I got quite the eye roll, but it launched me into this story.
I can truly say, I love my work and have always felt fulfilled by the chase, the consult, the big win.
You know that big win? The contract signed at the 11th hour and the whole company was cheering and chanting! You were recognized at the quarterly meeting, awarded with more cheers and shoulder slaps. You thank your team because you couldn't have done it without them!
But what happens when you lose the big deal? It get's real and it gets personal.
You watch your team scatter, your executive committee looks at you over the rim of their glasses while shaking their head in disappointment. You are left alone with the shame and guilt. You slowly open Salesforce and Close/Lost the deal of a century.
It's pretty raw actually.
But there is this odd moment of silence between the shock and horror of a deal gone bad and the shift of focus onto the next opportunity. I have embraced this odd little space of transition as my time to be "Streaking to the Quad."
I started using the corporate radio silence as a time to reflect on what I could have done better, what I should have paid attention to, what will change the next time, etc. I am, in many ways, streaking to the quad. I am exposing "the cracks" and running with them for a while, letting everything just jiggle around a bit to see where it lands. Understand that maybe if I had just picked up the phone instead of sending another email, it could have made the difference. If I had just adjusted the payment schedule in a different way, maybe that would have helped. Now the gears are turning and I'm speeding up, I'm getting excited again! I can do this! I know exactly what I will do next time this happens!
As I turn the corner off Pity Avenue to Action Street, I can see the Quad off in the distance. It's in this final stretch when the true beauty of my exposure and reflection are realized.
"I actually lost this one "better" than the one before."
That I did take my previous failures into consideration all the times before and in my heart of hearts I can honestly say, I gave it everything I had. I turned the contract around quicker, I had included the additional room in the implementation schedule, I coached the appropriate challenges, etc. I can stop running and be so proud of my progress. That maybe the only reason why this deal was a deal in the first place was because my experiences shaped it into one. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have finally reached the quad.
I have reached that point where I am no longer looking back in shock and horror, I am no longer exposed and feeling the elements of a deal gone wrong. I have put my armor back on, added an additional piece of ammunition and I'm ready to face the next deal.
I call it Streaking to the Quad, you can call it what you like but it really is the only process that helps me become more in tune with each deal I carry, each hurdle I jump and each pothole I fall into along the way.
I think we often forget how important our past experiences are to our future opportunities; about how our growth shapes the things around us. We are very good at taking past experiences and using them as excuses but how good are we at being mindful of our experiences and how they shape our successes? After all, it can't all be just good luck!
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