This weekend, we have been exploring how failure can be a valuable tool for growth in tennis and how finding the sweet spot of failure is essential for long-term success. Today, we are wrapping up that series by exploring the importance of failing faster. While that principle is often cited as a key success factor of entrepreneurship, its relevance extends far beyond the business world. It is a particularly useful concept for tennis.
At its core, failing faster is about accelerating the learning process. Start-up founders often talk about the importance of failing fast because it allows them to quickly identify what isn’t working, pivot, and move forward with greater clarity. In business, the companies that thrive are often the ones that aren’t afraid to test new ideas, discard what doesn’t work, and relentlessly pursue what does. Rather than being bogged down by the sunk costs of time or money invested in a single, failing concept, they are willing to experiment broadly, learning from each failure to inch closer to success.
This same principle can be used during a tennis match. Far too often, players cling to their initial strategy, even when it’s clear that it isn’t working. There is a benefit to recognizing when a shift in tactics or strategy is needed and trying something else. Insanity is standing out on the court and doing the same thing over and over as lost points, games, and sets accumulate. The best players possess the mental agility to switch tactics before the match slips out of reach.
The principle of failing faster isn’t just limited to individual players—it also applies to organizations within the tennis delivery system. The USTA, local community tennis associations, clubs, and local tennis centers often launch large-scale programs hoping to produce significant results. Sometimes, those initiatives don’t work out as expected. Organizations that are quick to recognize and acknowledge that an idea is floundering can have the agility to quickly try something else. Others fall into the trap of continuing to invest in the original concept due to the sunk cost fallacy—the tendency to stick with something simply because of the resources already invested.
The most successful organizations are those that recognize the importance of failing fast, even at the systemic level. It’s better to try a lot of smaller, experimental programs and be willing to abandon the ones that don’t work than to commit to one big program and stick with it for too long. Each failure provides valuable data about what doesn’t work, which can be just as important as understanding what does. This willingness to fail faster allows organizations to remain agile and responsive to the needs of the tennis community, quickly adjusting and evolving to meet challenges.
In tennis, the benefits of failing faster for individuals and organizations are clear. For players, it means being able to adapt and pivot during matches to find success while there is still time to come back to victory. For tennis organizations, it means being flexible, trying new things, and not being afraid to gracefully wind down initiatives that aren’t working. By embracing failure as part of the learning process, both players and organizations can improve faster, more efficiently, and with better success in the long run.
Failure isn’t something to be feared but rather embraced. Whether you’re a tennis player on the court or a tennis organization trying to grow the game, learning to fail faster is a critical skill. It allows for faster learning, greater adaptability, and better results.
Fail early, fail often.
Throughout 2024, I am publishing a series of essays imaging how to apply the principles in ‘Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life‘ (<- sponsored link), which is a non-tennis book that I have come to believe that everyone should read.
A chronological summary of all posts on this topic is available on the Designing Your Tennis Life summary page.
