Curving the Wings: When Things Work Out Better than Planned
It didn’t go according to plan. It was even better.
I had recently learned a new silversmithing technique called fold forming, which involves folding, hammering, annealing, and unfolding sheet metal to create three-dimensional shapes. It’s kinda like origami for silver, except the hammering also shapes the final object, making arcs and curves where the metal changes from thicker to thinner.
I started with a couple of practice pieces in red brass to get used to the technique. Cheaper than silver, but with similar properties, it’s an easy way to play around with a new technique. I figured out the size and dimensions I liked for the starting piece of sheet metal. I decided on the angles for the folds. The practice pieces looked great!
It was time to start the real thing. I cut the silver sheet and began the process. I annealed, I folded, I hammered, I annealed again, I unfolded. Everything went according to plan.
Except I didn’t like it. Maybe I hammered a bit differently. Maybe it was because it was a shiny white metal now instead of the red brass. But it just didn’t look right.
Has this happened to you? You did all the right planning, but the results aren’t quite what you expected?
I tried polishing. I thought about setting a stone or adding some texture. But nothing seemed right. I was getting pretty discouraged.
I set the piece aside for the night. When I came back to it a week later, I had an idea. It needed more movement. The original design had flat wings - it was a nice juxtaposition of curved and flat metal, showing the fold emerging from its original shape. But maybe it wasn’t right for the finished piece.
What if I curved the wings up? I went back to my red brass and experimented. I tried curving the tips of the wings, played with the angles. This might just work!
I took a deep breath and moved to my silver piece. I tried the technique and sure enough, it was perfect! The piece needed movement, and now looked like it was ready to take flight. I was in love.
As the story famously goes, when a reporter asked Thomas Edison , "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."
Because no one has ever lived our life before, there’s no plan, no instruction manual that we can follow to get perfect results. We need to experiment, learn, and iterate towards the outcomes we desire.
In a previous post, I shared an overview of the Iteration Next framework, which includes being crystal clear on the outcomes you’re looking to achieve, understanding who you’re serving and why (including yourself), breaking big problems down into a manageable roadmap and backlog, and running and learning from experiments as you iterate.
That last step can be the hardest, especially for those of us with perfectionistic tendencies. We want everything to come out just the way we planned. A few things that can help us embrace iterating:
Use hypothesis language
When we use words like “hypothesis” and “experiment” in our everyday language, it helps us be open to learning from the things we’re trying, and let those around us know that our plans aren’t set in stone.
Rather than “We need this feature to draw in new customers” try saying “my hypothesis is that customers will buy our product more often if it does this.”
Instead of “we’re going to have an easier time getting the kids ready in the morning by packing lunches the night before” try saying “we’re experimenting with packing lunches at night in the hopes it makes our mornings easier.”
Pause and reflect
Once you’ve given your experiment a bit of time to play out, take a step back and ask yourself if you’re getting the results you expected, or are hoping for. What contributed to the results? What do you want to keep doing, because it’s working, or change up because it’s not yet delivering what you want or need?
Your meetings have been going better lately - how has your new meeting agenda format contributing?
Perhaps your morning routine isn’t setting you up to be ready to face the day. What’s leaving you feeling a bit sour?Try something different
Whether it’s a complete change in direction or just a small adjustment, trying something different is the only way to get different results.
If you’ve found something that’s going well, what can you build on to make things even better?
If you still haven’t found a way to get the results you’re hoping for, what can you do differently that might give you better results?
Life doesn’t ever go quite according to plan - but that’s actually a good thing. When we approach our plans as hypotheses, run experiments to test those hypotheses, and iterate based on the results, we can actually live a life even more amazing than any of us could ever plan.
How will you experiment and iterate in your life?
As you think about your own plans, experiments, and iterations, you probably realize there’s opportunity to explore this further. Want some help? Book your free strategy session and let’s dig in.
How will you iterate towards the person you’re becoming?
August 15, 2024
About the author:
Christina Von Stroh is a leadership coach who helps her clients become wildly successful by applying iterative software development practices to achieve their dreams. Want to work with Christina to help you iterate towards the person you’re becoming?
Book your free strategy session.
