In the panic-driven environment companies are finding themselves in, it seems that some plans are made and scrapped in a heartbeat. Managers are looking for instant results and don't have the patience to see a plan through to its conclusion. Sometimes that's ok ... if the plan is flawed, it's a good idea to "fail fast" and cut your losses. But a plan or a promotion can be killed before it has a chance to work. One thing to consider is purchase cycle - what's the relevant time frame for your customer to consider a purchase? Does the purchase cycle change seasonally? Have you factored cycle time into your plans (for timing and duration)?
The other thing to consider before killing a failing program is the question of what EXACTLY went wrong. Is it a bad strategy ... or a bad execution? Or both?? It isn't enough just to conclude that a program has failed. If you had a good strategy with a bad execution, you may be walking away from a potential gold mine.
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Thanks for this important reminder. Here's another one: when debriefing on a plan it's just as important to learn what worked and why, as it is what didn't work and why. Too often we seem to focus on the negative to avoid failure. We also need to learn how to replicate success.
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