What do you think is the most important part of being a CEO of a company? Do you think it’s to constantly be positive? You may be surprised to find out that being negative has been becoming a popular way of thinking.
One example is calling a meeting about a new project that has yet to launch and letting everyone know you’ve already failed. The next step is to figure out where they went wrong. But how could this make sense? They haven’t failed yet! This kind of thinking was designed by Gary Klein, called premortem.
“In a premortem, a project manager must envision what could go wrong—what will go wrong—in advance, before starting. Why? Far too many ambitious undertakings fail for preventable reasons. Far too many people don’t have a backup plan because they refuse to consider that something might not go exactly as they wish.”
This type of thinking could revolutionize how we work. Planning for future failings can be helpful!