Reframe bad past investments as a stage to loosen attachment to them
With loss, perception is everything. As long as we've gained something, we can let go. How can you reframe past efforts?
As we're naturally inclined to avoid recognising our losses wherever possible, we exhibit unhealthy sunk costs, whereby we're unwilling to let go of a failing incomplete project, especially the more time, effort and money we'd put into it.
However, we'll be more willing to see the wood for the trees and let go of our past efforts and move on when our scenario is reframed as part of a bigger story.
As former Apple Designer Jonny Ive once said when creating the iPhone, the learnings from the processes to build the device we more valuable than the output itself. Sure, the outcome may appear more tangible by default, but how many new learnings, improvements and previously-unknown discoveries has this project now surfaced? In some cases, perhaps for a product that isn't so well-considered, these insights may be more valuable than its eventual release.
In such cases, the team may say "If we knew what we know now back at the start, we'd definitely not have built the product like this."
In this sense, how can you reframe peoples' past efforts not as wasted but as a necessary part of the creative process? What work or learning can be salvaged from your efforts thus far? Thinking in this way will greatly reduce any sunk costs, mistaken assumptions as well as repackaging what could otherwise be seen as a painful waste of resources into the nucleus for a brilliant new idea based on credible feedback and new insight that the team can truly all get around.
Reframe bad past investments as a stage to loosen attachment to them
With loss, perception is everything. As long as we've gained something, we can let go. How can you reframe past efforts?
As we're naturally inclined to avoid recognising our losses wherever possible, we exhibit unhealthy sunk costs, whereby we're unwilling to let go of a failing incomplete project, especially the more time, effort and money we'd put into it.
However, we'll be more willing to see the wood for the trees and let go of our past efforts and move on when our scenario is reframed as part of a bigger story.
As former Apple Designer Jonny Ive once said when creating the iPhone, the learnings from the processes to build the device we more valuable than the output itself. Sure, the outcome may appear more tangible by default, but how many new learnings, improvements and previously-unknown discoveries has this project now surfaced? In some cases, perhaps for a product that isn't so well-considered, these insights may be more valuable than its eventual release.
In such cases, the team may say "If we knew what we know now back at the start, we'd definitely not have built the product like this."
In this sense, how can you reframe peoples' past efforts not as wasted but as a necessary part of the creative process? What work or learning can be salvaged from your efforts thus far? Thinking in this way will greatly reduce any sunk costs, mistaken assumptions as well as repackaging what could otherwise be seen as a painful waste of resources into the nucleus for a brilliant new idea based on credible feedback and new insight that the team can truly all get around.
Reframe bad past investments as a stage to loosen attachment to them
With loss, perception is everything. As long as we've gained something, we can let go. How can you reframe past efforts?
As we're naturally inclined to avoid recognising our losses wherever possible, we exhibit unhealthy sunk costs, whereby we're unwilling to let go of a failing incomplete project, especially the more time, effort and money we'd put into it.
However, we'll be more willing to see the wood for the trees and let go of our past efforts and move on when our scenario is reframed as part of a bigger story.
As former Apple Designer Jonny Ive once said when creating the iPhone, the learnings from the processes to build the device we more valuable than the output itself. Sure, the outcome may appear more tangible by default, but how many new learnings, improvements and previously-unknown discoveries has this project now surfaced? In some cases, perhaps for a product that isn't so well-considered, these insights may be more valuable than its eventual release.
In such cases, the team may say "If we knew what we know now back at the start, we'd definitely not have built the product like this."
In this sense, how can you reframe peoples' past efforts not as wasted but as a necessary part of the creative process? What work or learning can be salvaged from your efforts thus far? Thinking in this way will greatly reduce any sunk costs, mistaken assumptions as well as repackaging what could otherwise be seen as a painful waste of resources into the nucleus for a brilliant new idea based on credible feedback and new insight that the team can truly all get around.
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As the creator of Coglode, I'll be bringing all my behavioural tools to a small number of external projects next year.
