I believe that despite the setback and disappointment, it can still present an opportunity for you—if you choose to allow it. That approach worked for me, and here is my experience.
It was close to the end of the day when I received the news that a big packaging project I had been driving was being tabled “indefinitely.” During this particular week, this was the second project to be cancelled after months of work.
We all have been there. I had felt particularly invested in my project since it was an idea that had started years back. Because of conflicting priorities, it never got the momentum to become a real initiative until very recently. I powered down my laptop feeling frustrated, disappointed, and even a bit angry. All that time and energy wasted! I would have to relay the news to the project team. And what about the packaging suppliers who had worked feverishly to develop concepts, prototypes, and supply proposals under impossible timelines?
The pivot point
I decided to call my mentor—a former boss at a previous employer—to vent and complain. He listened intently and then as he is known to do, reminded me of a similar challenge we faced when working together. He had been tasked with creating a sourcing team designed solely to find cost-saving opportunities for the medical device company where we worked. I was thrilled to be chosen for the team and together we enthusiastically set out to find savings on packaging, logistics, supply chain, etc.
As we brought ideas to the table, each was summarily shot down. The reasons were many: not enough savings to justify the change, too much risk, insufficient resources. My boss quickly realized he needed to pivot. He restructured the team goals to recognize proposed savings, versus realized savings, as a win. He had the vision to see the company wasn’t ready to make changes, but a victory could be defined not by executed savings but instead by the idea-generation process. By changing the definition of success, he moved the goalpost. Both the company and our team changed the earmark of success. With that, the team felt their efforts were validated and we set out on finding opportunities with a new focus.
