As a longtime fan of the TV Series “The West Wing,” I often go back and watch reruns of it when they appear on one streaming service or another. Recently, the series was being replayed from episode one, and I figured, “What better way to endure the 8-degree weather currently plaguing Pennsylvania?”
As I watched the first few episodes of the series, I was surprised by how often the writer imparted wisdom from the characters that directly applied to situations in my own management team and our daily operations. The senior staff of the West Wing is effectively the management team for the U.S. Government, and there are many similar situations that test our executive decision-making skills. These business leadership lessons, while fictional, often mirror the real-world challenges we face.
In season one episode five, one of the lead characters, Leo McGarry, portrayed by the late John Spencer, announces that the White House is going to repeat a historic novelty called “The Big Block of Cheese.” A day in which special interest groups, who would typically have a difficult time getting the attention of the president, were invited to come to the White House to converse with senior staffers, voice ideas or concerns, and work together to serve the people, all while having a big block of cheese to snack on throughout the day.
I find this particularly relevant because, personally, I try to solicit as much information as possible from as many people as I can in my decision-making, and in doing so, I have found that nearly everyone has good ideas. Unfortunately, in many cases, there may not be a direct venue to share these ideas, and as effective managers, we need to create them. That is not to say that we spend so much time getting opinions that we end up paralyzing the decision process, but in general, providing opportunities to foster communication across multiple levels of the organization does two things. It fosters a sense of inclusivity among employees, contractors, and customers, and, secondly, it DOES sometimes generate nuggets of perspective that would never have been considered. You don’t need to bring an actual block of cheese into your conference rooms, but finding ways to encourage cross-functional collaboration is time well spent.
In another episode, my takeaway for business was twofold: first, failure is not to be feared; second, if you are going to fail, fail fast and fail cheap. In season two, episode twelve, Leo McGarry again imparts his wisdom on another character, describing a particular failure of Sam Seaborn. The premise is that as Leo is discussing the mistake of Sam with Sam’s boss, Toby, he notes, “I love the way he did it full speed, BAM. Like there’s a Sam Seaborn-shaped hole in the wall.”
While I, as much as anyone else, would prefer success over failure, managers should create environments that encourage exploration and foster creativity, and that are not punitive when things go astray. You are going to fail at some things. If you don’t, my perspective is that you should consider whether you or your team are pushing the envelope. Progress naturally comes with setbacks, and risk is to be assessed and mitigated, not feared. With that in mind, however, we don’t want our organizations blindly taking unnecessary risks. Executives should foster and encourage new ideas through thoughtful planning, risk assessment, and mitigation strategies. Stage-gating new initiatives with off-ramps that enable you to evacuate and validate progress and potential results is imperative. These types of business leadership lessons—especially “fail fast, fail cheap”—have helped shape how I approach risk in our own organization.
“Fail Fast, Fail Cheap,” while not a saying of my own creation, is a personal motto. Drive to get answers and results quickly, and if things look like they are going in the wrong direction, hit the brakes; you don’t have to throw good money after bad. Remember, you are never too far along to pull the plug.
“The West Wing” is still one of my favorite TV series, and it did a great job of representing the complexities of governing in a thoughtful, dramatic, and sometimes humorous way, but if you are like me, you can rarely fully separate yourself from your daily job. Good ideas don’t clock out just because the workday ends, and the best lessons tend to have a way of showing up when we least expect them, even in places meant purely for entertainment. Since that’s the case, I’ll take wisdom wherever I can find it, so perhaps this week, I’ll go out and buy that big block of cheese.
About the Author:
Chuck Miller is the President and CEO of NgenX Energy, Pennsylvania’s leading energy development company. He has been developing complex energy deals for 40 years. NgenX Energy is focused on behind-the-meter power generation and combined heat and power for energy-dense applications. It also develops power and thermal solutions for the rapidly growing AI data center segment. To learn more about NgenX Energy, visit us at www.ngenxenergy.com or call 267-640-1799.
