Michael Jordan said “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.”
On the surface that sounds like a quote about perseverance, but it’s really not. It’s a quote about systems.
In business and art, the winners rarely have the most resources. If that were the case, why did Apple—a company started in a garage—beat IBM at personal computers in the early 80s? IBM had millions and millions more dollars to sink into their products. But Apple crushed them with a fraction of the budget. Because Apple had a better grasp of what customers wanted. Because their feedback loop included a secret weapon.
In the late 70s and early 80s, Apple’s two Steves—Jobs and Wozniak—were regulars at Homebrew Computer Club meetings. Computer hobbyists met monthly in Menlo Park, California to talk about gadgets and PCs. They were all early adopters—consumers ahead of their time. So the Steves would bring their prototypes to the club, knowing that if the club liked it, the rest of America would eventually like it too.
Meanwhile, IBM and the other big players focused on lab testing, forgetting who has the final verdict on success—the customer.
My favorite example of a testing system in the arts is the mixtape circuit of the early 2000s. 50 Cent and Lil Wayne perfected this. Back then, a major label release would take a year to record and cost north of a million dollars. But what if no one liked it? It means they lost a year and a bunch of money.
After being shot and dropped from his label, 50 Cent developed a better way. He was broke, and on the street, so he needed a quick and easy way to find out what people wanted to hear.
He didn’t have money to pay producers for original tracks, so he just downloaded instrumentals of songs already on the radio. Old songs and new songs. He would then write his own brand-new song on top of that popular track. When he had 15 finished pieces, he would sell them as a mixtape to the bootleggers along Jamaica Avenue. Since he was also hanging out on the Ave, he would know right away if people liked it or not.
No other major label artist had this close of a connection to the streets. Instead, they were holed up in fancy studios for six months at a time, wondering whether their stuff was good.
But 50 Cent’s feedback loop was quick and compact.
On both the creation and the distribution fronts.
On the creative front, he would use the same chorus melody of the song he was ripping, but he’d change the lyrics. He’d spin them into something more violent or sexual or funny. His audience loved this. It had familiarity and originality at the same time. A winning combo. People started calling his the “corrupted version.” If you want to hear for yourself, Youtube the song “Doin’ My Own Thing” which is based on “Tell Me” by Groove Theory.
This strategy of following the main melody helped him learn what really makes a hit. He was de-constructing the pop formula like a soldier disassembling his rifle to know how it works.
And he learned so quick!
I remember being in 11th grade lunch period and sometimes all we’d talk about was which G-Unit song was our favorite. The mixtapes became a hot commodity. We would cut class to go and buy them before returning for basketball practice. I know, it’s a prime example of a teenager’s twisted sense of priorities.
But 50 Cent honed this system to such a high degree that when he released his first album of originals, it sold 13 million copies. That’s what a fast product testing system does; it lets you learn quicker and cheaper than your competitors. This way, when you finally have money to sink into your business, you’re pretty much batting a thousand.
Lil Wayne took this same approach when it was his time to shine. He became the new mixtape king in 2006, releasing over two hundred songs. And by 2008, he was the highest-selling rapper that year.
Nowadays, business owners have tons of cheap and quick ways to test their offers and messaging. The first obvious way is through online advertising. Before designing a new product, run a Google or Facebook ad with the idea’s name and messaging. If no one clicks, either your idea sucks, or your communication sucks. Test some more to find out which one it is.
Then, improve it.
Even cheaper than paid ads, polling your followers on social media is a way to get rapid feedback. Just keep in mind that liking an idea and spending money on a product are miles apart. Take free advice with a grain of salt.
You’re moving closer to your goal as long as you’re testing and iterating. The simple fact is, more than a good idea, what you need is a good system for testing your ideas.
Because even if you don’t have a good idea right now, as long as your system for testing ideas is good, it’s only a matter of time until you land on a winner.
James Clear wrote that “you don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
So crappy system, crappy outcome.
There’s no way to unmarry the two.
Think about it: you already have built-in systems that got you to your current situation. For example, your image. Your close friends will be the first to tell you if your clothes look good on you. Even saying nothing at all speaks volumes. That’s why you are the company you keep. Your taste in fashion, music, cars, and everything else is closely tied to what your friends and family like. It’s a fundamental system in your life.
In business and art, the efficiency of your feedback system will determine your success.
You want a system that will quickly tell you if you’re moving in the right direction or not. And I’m purposely taking the word “moving” for granted. Life is movement. Life is change. If you’re not changing, you’re not pushing yourself hard enough.
It’s an exciting time at my company, Financial Lynx. We’ve been working on new systems to shorten the feedback loop between us and the business owners we serve. The quicker we know their financing needs, the faster we can connect them with the solutions they deserve. Our first three years we were goal-driven, but now we’re system-driven.
I love this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. What if they are a little coarse, and you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice. Up again, you shall never be so afraid of a tumble.”
As I wrote in my book, Rich Instinct, the world suffers from a shortage of courage. We’re all afraid to tumble. But he who dares, wins. When you build for yourself a system of trial and error, the tumbles stop feeling like a mistake. And they start feeling like just another step toward your destination.
For me, my testing system is this, the weekly post that you’re reading right now. When I strike a chord, you guys tell me right away. And when the writing is crappy, I hear it from the crickets.
It’s no longer a question of “Should I put this article out?” Now it’s “What will I learn when I put this out?”
The publish button no longer scares me.
That’s why I have an issue with the 10,000 hours to excellence rule. It doesn’t consider how many of those hours we spent early on just hiding from feedback. Someone willing to practice in front of their target audience can chop mastery time down by half or more.
So, instead of it taking you 10 years to master your craft or business, a fearless system of iteration can make you world-class in less than five.
Now you see why Michael Jordan said, “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” He wasn’t talking about his grit. He was talking about his system. The feedback system you build for yourself is key to your success in life, business, and art. Like Steve Jobs said, “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
