“If you punish people too much for failure, then they will respond accordingly, and the innovation you will get will be very incrementalist.  Nobody is going to try anything bold for fear of getting fired or being punished in the same way, so risk reward must be balanced.”
 -Elon Musk

I find this quote to be incredibly true, both in business and in our personal lives, with our children, spouses, and significant others.

Look, it’s okay to get angry. It’s okay to express disappointment or dissatisfaction. But there must also be a follow-up to that.

We also must celebrate the victories. We must celebrate the wins; we must acknowledge strong effort. It’s important to be aware that our actions have both short- and long-term repercussions on everybody that we meet and engage with.

Now, I am not one of those people that is all for participation awards and participation trophies. But I do think it’s important that when someone gives you their best effort and maybe falls a little bit short, we acknowledge them.

We can also help coach them to become the best version of themselves so that the next time they try, they excel – and exceed our expectations.

Expect excellence. Demand effort. Applaud success.

But provide guidance and coaching to foster growth and improvement along the way.

-J.D.