Nobody wins all the time, but don’t let the possibility of a loss keep you from playing the game at all.
Adam Jochelson, P. E., MOLO
There is a persistent rumor that every year, when the last unbeaten team in the National Football League finally loses a game, the remaining players from the 1972 Miami Dolphins raise a toast to their perfect season, uncorking a bottle of champagne as time expires in the game. Despite consistent refutation of this tale, it continues to capture the imagination of the American sports-fan community. It’s not hard to see why—people tend to like winners, after all.
Those Dolphins are the only team to have completed a perfect season since the advent of the Super Bowl. They won all of their 14 games in the regular season; then carried on through the post-season all the way to victory in Super Bowl VII to post a 17-0 record. A handful of teams have come close since, most recently the New England Patriots, who won all 16 of their regular season games in 2007 then improved their record to 18-0 en route to Super Bowl XLII, where they were upset to end their bid to match Miami’s perfection 35 years prior. But most years, even the best teams in the league lose at least a couple games.
Failure is an Option
Last month, we talked about how to build a good team to operate your landfill. I pointed out that the teams that perform best are the ones who trust each other to do what needs to be done to put the group in the best position to win. Thorough planning and preparation allows them to feel confident entering every game. But good teams know that despite their status as favorites, they will occasionally lose. What’s instructive here is to observe how these teams handle miscues and see what they take away from any loss. The best teams figure out why the result didn’t turn out the way they expected and make adjustments accordingly. Often, the lessons they take from those defeats bring victory in later challenges.
The same should be true of your landfill team. You and your staff will face challenges every day. If you’ve got a well-trained team, you’ll win the large majority of those challenges. But every now and then, things won’t turn out the way you expect, especially when you’re trying out new procedures or policies. If you want your landfill to improve over time, it’s important to develop a culture that doesn’t stigmatize failure. This flies in the face of the common motto, “Failure is not an option!” There are, of course, situations that necessitate success for which failure is indeed not acceptable. A vital, quality leadership is the ability to recognize when those instances arise to avoid having your facility constantly operating in panic mode.
The other thing that comes from not allowing for failure is a tendency for employees to make efforts to hide their mistakes or blame them on someone else. We certainly to want to avoid errors as much as possible—winning is clearly better than losing, after all. But we must ensure that our team knows that it’s okay to make the occasional misstep, and that the correct reaction is to share them for discussion and analysis. In my estimation, too many landfills have created an environment where employees feel unable to admit any fault, fearing severe retribution from their superiors. And no one benefits when we engender an institutional fear of failure.
No Mistakes = No Risk = No Growth
The problem with a systemic fear of disapproval is that it leads to avoidance of risk, which ultimately results in stagnation. As Aristotle said, “To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.” Calculated risks are fundamental to growth as an organization. Without them, we carry on as we always have—never growing, never changing, waiting for someone to come along and eat our lunch. Perhaps this principle was best expressed by the famous motivational speaker, Leo Buscaglia, when he said, “The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.”
As I write tonight, a week past the halfway point of the 2015 NFL season, three teams remain undefeated. I happened to catch the end of a game where one of the mighty nearly fell. During the final game-winning drive, the unbeaten quarterback almost ended the game with a terrible pass that should have been intercepted—a clear mistake on a risky play. Did the coach berate him? Did he resort to punishment? No.
By definition, if we wish to achieve the extraordinary, we must go beyond the everyday. This player knows that taking chances in an effort to bring victory is part of the game. He’s comfortable pushing the limits to help his team win. You should make sure your landfill team feels the same.
Adam Jochelson, P. E., MOLO, is a Landfill Engineer and Facility Specialist working for GeoShack, Inc., where he promotes the application of cutting edge technologies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of landfill operations. Adam built his knowledge and techniques over a nine-year period as the on-site engineer at McCommas Bluff Landfill in Dallas, TX. His unique experiences in engineering and other fields have combined to create an exceptional understanding of the various challenges inherent in landfill planning, design, and operations. Send comments or questions to Adam at [email protected] or call him at (972) 342-3055.
Land·fill En·gi·neer [land-fil en-juh-neer]
noun an environmental engineer who specializes in the design, management, planning, and development, of solid waste management facilities; a unique combination of engineer, surveyor, data analyst, computer programmer, construction worker, manager, teacher, writer, conservationist, and experimenter.