A Leader Should Know How to Manage Failure

In Corporate always the failures goes to bolt and nuts, not to the leaders/managers. None of the managers hold the responsbility when it comes to failure, at the same time when there is a success most managers comes forward and take the honor. But this incident shows a different view.

(Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam at Wharton India Economic Forum, Philadelphia, March 22,2008)
Question: Could you give an example, from your own experience, of how leaders should manage failure?

Kalam: Let me tell you about my experience. In 1973 I became the project director of India's satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India's 'Rohini' satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources -- but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal.

By 1979 -- I think the month was August -- we thought we were ready. As the project director, I went to the control center for the launch. At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order. My experts -- I had four or five of them with me -- told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode, and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal. It was a big failure.
That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference. The launch was at 7:00 am, and the press conference -- where journalists from around the world were present -- was at 7:45 am at ISRO's satellite launch range in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India]. Prof. Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself. He took responsibility for the failure -- he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in another year, the team would definitely succeed. Now, I was the project director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the organization.

The next year, in July 1980, we tried again to launch the satellite -- and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me, 'You conduct the press conference today.'

Abdul kalam said, I learned a very important lesson that day. When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team. The best management lesson I have learned did not come to me from reading a book; it came from that experience.

A simple solution

We know Pencil-moon-russian-USA and Japanese Soap boxes-Fan kinda incidents and its way of simple solution, I got a mail today which shows the similar kind of, however it is a story. Here we go.

Hero went to a psychiatrist.

"I've got problems. Every time I go to bed, I think there's somebody under it. I'm scared. I think I'm going crazy."
Doctor repled, "Come and talk to me three times a week, and we should be able to get rid of those fears after powerful councellings"

"How much do you charge?"

"150Rs per visit" replied the doctor.

Hero nodded and left the hospital.

Six months later the doctor met hero on the street.
"Why didn't you ever come to see about those fears you were having?" asked the psychiatrist.

"Well, Rs150 a visit three times a week for a year is an awful lot
of money! A bartender cured me for Rs 120. I was so happy to have saved all
that money I went and bought me a new pickup!"

"Is that so! And how, may I ask, did a bartender cure you?"

"He told me to cut the legs off the bed! - Ain't nobody under there now!!"

Managers' attitude

A team of Managers was given an assignment to measure the height of a flagpole. So the Managers go out to the flagpole with ladders and tape. They're falling off the ladders, dropping the tape measures - the whole thing is just a mess.

An Engineer comes along and sees what they're trying to do, walks over, pulls the flagpole out of the ground, lays it flat, measures it from end to end, gives the measurement to one of the managers and walks away.

After the Engineer has gone, one manager turns to another and laughs." See this idiot. We're looking for height and he gives the length!" J J

Moral: "No matter what good you do, Managers can always find fault with you".