Did your experiment go awry?
I couldn’t find it.
I looked everywhere.
In the pantry drawer where it should have been.
In all the other drawers.
Behind the drawers.
In the refrigerator.
Under the couch (don’t judge, my cat may have taken it and hid it).
It was nowhere to be found.
I was cooking my favorite chicken and wild rice soup. Before heading to the store the day before to get the ingredients I needed, I double checked that I had enough wild rice on hand. I did, so I didn’t buy any more.
But then, right at that moment when I was ready to add the rice to the soup, I couldn’t find it.
So I had a choice. Do I set the soup aside for a few minutes and run to the store? Do I skip the wild rice altogether and pivot? Or do I find a substitute?
I was tired, hungry, and ready to settle in for the night. A quick google search suggested that basmati rice was a reasonable alternative for the wild rice for soup, and I had some on hand (right next to where the wild rice should have been).
I decided to go for it. It was going to be an experiment, but how bad could it be?
Turns out, pretty bad. When I opened my pressure cooker after the allotted 25 minutes, the basmati had soaked up all the liquid and burned onto the bottom of the pot. It was edible, thankfully, but barely.
Even though I did some research and felt reasonably optimistic about the outcome, my experiment went awry.
Has this ever happened to you?
My heart sank when I opened that pot and saw the results. Had I just wasted my time and money on a big pot of inedible garbage, leaving myself without lunch for the week?
Thankfully, I wasn’t trying to impress anyone at a dinner party, it was just batch cooking for a busy week. I added more chicken stock to thin things out. Served with a little freshly ground black pepper and parsley, and it was tolerable. But the next time I headed to the grocery store, you better believe I picked up several packages of wild rice!
Have you ever found yourself with an experiment that didn’t go quite as you expected?
Perhaps it’s the approach to communicating the next big priority that didn’t resonate with your team.
Or the shortcut to the trailhead that took you way off road.
Or maybe the info you’re asking for doesn’t actually help you make the decision you need to.
Or the movie you thought your kid was ready for turns out to be too much for them to handle.
We run experiments (even if we don’t frame them as such) all the time. Some work out, some don’t.
If you have an experiment that doesn’t go as planned, try these tips to get move forward:
Own the outcome
Whether the experiment goes as planned or goes awry, the first step is to own the experiment and the outcome, especially if the results impact those around us.
Perhaps you tried a new approach to share your strategic vision and your team left more confused than inspired. Try acknowledging that the approach didn’t work and then share your vision in a different way. Maybe you tried a different route to your kid’s after-school activity and ended up getting them there late. Owning that the delay was due to your decision may help with your child’s frustration.
Understand what went wrong
When something doesn't go as planned, it’s important to take a moment to reflect on why, before barreling ahead with a new approach.
Maybe you went over budget on the big launch. Was it because you forgot to account for something important, changed plans mid-project, or had aspirations that were bigger than what you could feasibly take on? Perhaps your new workout routine has left you with a new injury to manage. Was that because you took on too much too quickly, didn’t have good technique, or are trying something your body isn’t built for?
Apply the lessons
As you iterate on your experiment, intentional application of the lessons you’ve learned help you move in the direction of your goal.
Perhaps you learned that one of the metrics you’re tracking doesn’t really help inform your key decisions. How will you adjust what data you’re collecting to help support better decisions? Or maybe you’ve come to hate when your Sunday afternoons are filled with chores instead of relaxation. What changes do you want to make to the rest of your week so that you have the time you need to rejuvenate before your work week begins?
Experiments often don’t go as expected. But when we own the experiment and its outcome, unpack why things didn’t go according to plan, and apply what we’ve learned, we’ll iterate in the direction of our goals and see meaningful progress with time.
What of your recent experiments have gone awry?
As you think about iterating from your experiments, you may come to decide that you’d like to have someone in your corner, helping you make progress in the direction of your goals.
I help people get from point A to point B. Ready to achieve your goals? Let’s talk.
Book time, and we’ll figure out how to get you unstuck and get going.
How will you iterate towards the person you’re becoming?
March 13, 2025
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.
