Before you answer that question, stop and think about your industry and the organization you work in.
You have to start with the definitions of failure and success. They can be slippery concepts. This can be especially dangerous if you and your boss have differing viewpoints on the concept. What constitutes failure in one organization may or may not be considered a failure in another. In fact, there are several innovative companies that are willing to let many projects fail in order to capitalize on the ones that actually succeed. Those projects are likely to be high risk to begin with. It’s important to understand the environment in which you work.
The definition of success and failure can vary within your organization, and differ based upon who you work for.
Many years ago, while working on a project, I announced to my boss that I needed one more week than planned in the project timeline to ready the software for testing. My boss was not happy. Shortly after this, I received a phone call two levels higher in the organization wanting to know what was going on and what was this disaster.
After explaining, the result was, “Oh. I thought something was really wrong. That’s great news. A week? That’s great. Keep up the good work.”
It was clear that the two of them had very different ideas on success and failure. It painted a very clear picture to me that you had to understand what the expectations of those you work with and for.
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