It has come to my intention that some of the best concepts, products, and services I’ve ever been associated with either died on the vine or are yet to make their mark on the landscape. Considering that there was no lack of talent, vision or leadership on any of these projects, the question remains, what does success require? Timing, persistence and resolve?  Some folks have had lightning strike multiple times, so what sets them apart?

Perhaps belief in their vision, themselves and their ability to manage a team. The ability to distinguish what’s in the way and remove it, or put in what’s missing. The ability to cause effective leadership.  The ability to enroll others in the value proposition and take action, and if it doesn’t succeed, try again.  And perhaps that’s the secret.  Instead of fearing failure, embrace the mantra of “failing fast”.  And perhaps that’s one of the driving factors for agile – get a product or service to a point where there’s demonstrable value for the stakeholder rapidly  and be able to react to changing requirements.

The heart-braking big-bang products that never made it to market in my world were largely waterfall, and that can take the wind out of your sails.  If the market doesn’t adopt it, don’t lose heart. If you can’t use what you developed as the platform for something different, at least you built a team and gained experience.  Who did you get to be in the process? That’s valuable in itself.