Hi friends, recently I was reading a very interesting book called Adapt – Why Success starts With Failure. I came across some interesting thoughts which I thought I should share. These are points which we come across in our daily professional and personal lives.

• The process of evolution strikes a balance between discovering the new and exploiting the familiar very well.

• Nobody would buy a car that didn’t turn or go backwards, so it is unclear why we think of these as desirable qualities in a Prime Minister, and I would add leaders too both professional and political.

• Whether we like it or not, trial and error is a tremendously powerful process for solving problems in a complex world, while expert leadership is not.

• As a Prussian general once put it, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. What matters is how quickly the leader is able to adapt!

What is the The Recipe for Successful Adaptation

At the crux of Adapt lies this conviction: In a complex world, we must use an adaptive, experimental approach to succeed. The author argues, "the more complex and elusive our problems are, the more effective trial and error becomes." We can't begin to predict whether our "great idea" will actually sink or swim once it's out there.

The author outlines three principles for failing productively: You have to cast a wide net, "practice failing" in a safe space, and be primed to let go of your idea if you've missed the mark.

Try new things. "Expose yourself to lots of different ideas and try lots of different approaches, on the grounds that failure is common."

Experiment where failure is survivable. "Look for experimental approaches where theres lots to learn - projects with small downsides but bigger upsides. Too often we take on projects where the cost of failure is prohibitive, and just hope for the best."

Recognize when you haven't succeeded. "The third principle is the easiest to state and the hardest to stick to: know when you've failed."