Ahead of its Time

Why we should ask this question when projects fail.

Have you ever worked on a project that failed?

If you're like me, you've worked on many projects that have failed. One of the most logical next steps after a failed project is to pop the hood and understand why it failed. What went wrong? What could have gone better? What would you improve next time?

But one question that generally isn't asked is "Was this project ahead of its time?"

I started podcasting in 2006. At this point, only 11% of people in the US listened to podcasts. By all objective measures, the podcast failed and we shut down the project.

In retrospect however, it could have been that we launched a project that was a little ahead of its time - and we didn't have the resolve to stick with it while adoption caught up with the idea.

So here's the challenge - think back on some projects that you've been a part of that failed and ask yourself if the project was simply ahead of its time. If you think this was possibly a driver to the project failing, do you think the world is ready for it now? If so - why not try it again?

Ahead of its time isn't a failure. It's a signal to try again when the time is right.

Thanks for spending time with me in my workshop,

Eric