You can’t return to square one if you experience a project failure any more than than you can return to 2008. In fact, the entire expression of ‘returning to square one’ is invalid.

Seth Godin offers up a post today about returning to square one. Sometimes you must, posits Seth. I say you can’t.

If you start over with anything, you start over with experience. That alone improves your chances of success. Maybe you start over at square 1.1?

A great scientist once said, “want to improve your rate of success? Then increase your failures.”

When you must start over, be sure to give careful consideration of the best learning tools available: analysis of failure. When things go as expected, we learn little. It’s when things take a turn for the worst, we learn the most.

Square one? Never again. Starting over with a bunch of new information about what doesn’t work is not returning to square one. It’s starting over but not at the beginning as Yogi Berra might say. But I said it.

Chris Reich, Author of TeachU’s Business Talk Blog.
Chris@TeachU.com