By Moe Lastfogel Director of Sales and Marketing for The Retail Observer ![]() Often, the cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing In business, you are taught that every decision and move your company makes will have financial implications. Those decisions, if not carefully made, could set a dire course for the fate of your company. Therefore, it is perceived that there is a high cost for being wrong, so often times business owners live in that fear every day. However, being wrong is actually an essential part of learning. We get scared because we fear the cost of experimenting. Part of this is that we don’t often realize how cheap it is to test most of our ideas. But the bigger problem with experimenting is psychological – the realization that we might be wrong. Kathryn Shulz, author of Being Wrong, explains why this is such a problem for many people: “In our collective imagination, error is associated not just with shame and stupidity, but also with ignorance, indolence, psychopathology, and moral degeneracy. In this rather despairing view – and it is a common one – our errors are evidence of our gravest social, intellectual, and moral failings. Of all the things we are wrong about, this idea of error might well top the list. It is our meta-mistake: we are wrong about what it means to be wrong. Far from being a sign of intellectual inferiority, the capacity to err is crucial to human cognition... Thanks to error, we can revise our understanding of ourselves and amend our ideas about the world.” At what stage in our life did we start believing that we need to be perfect at everything we do? That we need to achieve our goals without failure, without challenges and without everything going according to plan? In the real world, we need to be wrong, not deterred, just wrong sometimes. We need to take risks, put ourselves out there, live on the edge, and try things that we will not master upon our first attempt. We need to push our comfort zones to get ahead. In other words, being wrong is the most beneficial and natural way to learn, not only in our personal lives but in the business world as well. Happily Wrong (sometimes), Moe Lastfogel [email protected]
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By Eliana Barriga Publisher and Managing Editor for The Retail Observer ![]() It’s August already, and the mercury is topping 115o here in Las Vegas. With the sweltering heat, we are indeed experiencing the hottest and most sultry days of the year, known as the “dog days of summer.” Named from the constellation Sirius, the Dog Star, in close proximity to the sun and responsible for lazy days “dogging” around and feeling “dog-tired” from the hot weather. Europeans understand the rhythm of life, taking the entire month of August off, closing the factories and take the family to the ocean and lake for a much needed vacation. It’s a time to recharge the internal battery and restore tired spirits with rest and relaxation — sure to inspire even the worst workaholic among us. A fun summer read from Andy Andrews can help get you through those dog days and inspire you as well. Andy is hailed by a New York Times reporter as “someone who has quietly become one of the most influential people in America.” The Final Summit, the official follow-up to the New York Times bestselling book The Traveler’s Gift, is a timely mystery adventure providing guidance and insight, custom-tailored for the problems of today’s modern world. As business owners, we must push through our own fears to survive and thrive in difficult times. Andy’s writing offers us insight into what it takes to do just that. It focuses on leadership, personal excellence and the importance of courage for those who lead others, since they must push through their own fears in order to inspire those in their circle of influence. So, why don’t you get a little rejuvenated by getting ”doggone lazy” and enjoy the last rays of the hot summer sunshine. Here's to downtime, Eliana Barriga [email protected] |
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December 2021
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