Normalize Quick Iterations Over Perfection
Want to know what we mean by Fail Fast, Learn Faster? Well, if you’ve ever waited too long to launch a new program, policy, or guest experience—only to realize it wasn’t quite right—you already understand the risk of chasing perfection. It almost never feels quite right, right? There’s always something you can make better.
In fast-paced industries like waterparks, theme parks, hospitality, and recreation, the real key to success isn’t getting everything perfect before you roll it out. It’s about being willing to try, adjust quickly, and move forward with what you learn.
That’s the essence of the “Fail Fast, Learn Faster” mentality—and it could be the difference between constantly reacting and being really innovative and on the ball.
What “Fail Fast, Learn Faster” Really Means
This concept, popular in the tech and innovation worlds, is starting to gain ground in operations-heavy environments, too—and for good reason.
At its heart, failing fast means trying something before it’s perfect so you can learn what works and what doesn’t without wasting time, money, or morale. Too many times, we waste time mulling over whether this is the right decision, wrong decision, if it costs too much, if it’s developed enough of a concept or program, and for what? To never roll it out? Never get the chance to know if it would make a difference?
Failing fast doesn’t mean being reckless. It means building learning into the process. Whenever something doesn’t work out, you can see where it failed and what could make it better. Think of making pancakes: the first time, your pan wasn’t hot enough so they got real tough in the middle, the second time your pan was too hot and the middle was still raw, the third time was almost perfect… That’s what we are talking about here.
It’s the difference between:
- Waiting six months to launch a new staff training initiative that might not work…
- Versus testing it in one department next week, collecting feedback, adjusting, and expanding.
That’s learning faster.
What “Fail Fast, Learn Faster” Can Mean For You
Let’s be honest—our industries are built around experiences. Whether you’re managing a lifeguard team, front-of-house staff, or guest services at a resort, your environment changes daily:
Guest preferences shift with trends or weather.
Staffing needs fluctuate unexpectedly.
New attractions, programs, or policies don’t always land as intended.
Trying to get everything “just right” before implementing often means missing opportunities to improve, delight, or prevent problems. This is where perfection cuts away at the potential joy and ease that could be realized in your operations.
And unfortunately, traditional management training doesn’t always prepare leaders for this kind of dynamic decision-making. That’s why so many teams are now shifting toward learning-by-doing—training managers to test, adapt, and grow in real time.
➡️ Explore why a modern approach to management training matters.
what happens when you adopt a quick-iteration mindset?
You Learn Faster
You don’t need a six-week post-mortem to know something didn’t go well. Most of the time, you know right away that something isn’t right. So you stop the test, iterate and try again. Quick debriefs, pilot tests, and informal check-ins help your team learn what works in real time.
Don’t forget to document everything! Documenting organizational learning is important for the future successes. It tells future leaders why you made the decisions you made and provides backup. Monthly, quarterly, and annual reports are great for tracking what new initiatives you’ve implementing, and how and why they were successful and how and where they failed. This learning allows for continued growth throughout your organization and creates a blueprint or DNA of how your organization realizes success. This leaves a trail of breadcrumbs for those that come after you.
You Save Resources
A rough draft of a better check-in process can save your team hours—before investing in a full rollout or retraining everyone. If you invest all the time and resources you might need to make something extravagant work, it could all be for nothing and a real pain for everyone involved. Not to mention the programs and teams that could have used those resources more effectively. Just like the pancakes, try one and see how it goes before putting all your batter in the pan.
You Encourage Innovation
When your team knows it’s safe to try something, fail, and adjust—they start sharing more ideas. You unlock the creativity that’s already in your building. The risk of trying something new goes away and they are emboldened to share and iterate with each other for the good of the team and operation. Start by asking and encouraging “what if” questions at staff meetings and debriefs of things you’re already doing.
You Stay Responsive (a.k.a. Guest-Focused)
Sure, some people call it “market responsiveness.” But for us? It’s responding to what guests are asking for—today.
When you test something fast, you can pivot to match what people actually want, not what you thought they wanted two months ago. An easy example might be in your restaurant, you hear that your guests want some healthier options. Well, that could mean a lot, right?
So instead of figuring out a way to add the latest and greatest quinoa bowl with all the fixings, what if you could reconfigure ingredients you might already have into a bowl of sorts. You have black beans for nachos? There’s your base. Spring mix for your wraps? There’s another one. Veggies for sandwiches, wraps and pizzas? There’s your toppings! Top it with some grilled chicken or steak and Voila! A healthier option.
Now, get some feedback from those that wanted the healthier option and see what happens. It’s that easy!
Adopting a “fail fast, learn faster” mentality isn’t about accepting mediocrity—it’s about holding onto high standards while recognizing that excellence often comes from iteration. In fact, creating a culture that encourages experimentation and risk-taking is part of a broader shift toward idealism in action.
➡️ Read how idealism can be harnessed to inspire excellence in your workplace.
How to Start Using This Fail Fast Mindset in Your Operation
Here’s how to build a “fail fast, learn faster” approach into your daily leadership:
1. Start with a Mini-Test
Before launching something big, try a quick version:
- Want to change the locker system? Test it on one bank of lockers.
- Thinking about a new onboarding tactic? Try it with your next two hires.
This is often called a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)—it’s not fancy, just functional enough to test. In product engineering, you figure out what is the smallest lift or sample product that you could create that would give you enough feedback to learn from. So you do that and then implement the feedback on your next model. Think of it as the first draft of your idea.
Don’t forget to announce and make everyone aware that this test is happening and that they could be the first to test it out! You can even create a promotion centered around using the new locker system or make it a reward to use the new onboarding tactic. Make it festive, fun, and playful so that people know it’s novel and you’re just seeing how this new thing fits into your already awesome operation.
2. Build Feedback into Everything
This is what will turn your first draft into a Nobel Prize winning essay or your frozen pizza into a hand-tossed wood-fired pizza! Don’t wait for feedback to fall in your lap. Seek it out and use it. Feedback is what tells you “this is what would make this better.”
- Ask for staff input right after new procedures go live.
- Use QR codes to collect guest feedback instantly.
- Create a “lesson learned” moment at the end of every staff meeting.
Continuously ask and monitor how things are going with your pilot. Are sales going up? Can you see customer satisfaction rates going up? Are you getting reviews about it?
3. Reward Learning, Not Just Success
Normalize phrases like:
“Here’s what didn’t work—and here’s what we’re trying next.”
and “I think if we adjusted this, it might work better.”
and “What if we changed the instructions this way?”
and “You know what might make it more effective?”
When managers model curiosity and adaptability, staff feel empowered to do the same. Curiosity is such a powerful tool to bring out in your team and guests. Curiosity is the engine that drives innovation and advancement. It’s what takes the spark of an idea and turns it into something real and concrete out in the world. This is where imagination comes to life.
4. Set Boundaries Around Risk
Not every experiment should go live on your busiest day. Choose appropriate settings for trial runs—off-hours, soft launches, or small groups. You don’t want to advertise that you might fail, although there have been some memorable potential failures. Anybody remember that show “Wipe Out”? Most of those people did not succeed and it was still an interesting and fun show.
But even when most knew they would fail, they still took it seriously – they wore helmets and other safety gear to ensure that it went as best as it could. And then they went out there and hoped for the best! Do what you’re trying to do, safely.
Learn how to create what Cheryl calls “Safe Fails”. This is where you craft a situation to test something out where you are planning to fail just to see what you can learn from it. As a manager, this might look like a team member coming to you with a question on how to do something, and you ask “how would you like to handle it?”. Then letting them go with their gut after they tell you what it is even though you’ve seen it not work like that. But maybe, it could, for them. If they fail, okay. If they succeed, great! Either way, they learned something in the process.
You’re Already Doing This—Now Just Name It
You’ve likely made a call mid-shift to change the rotation, adjust the guest flow, or swap a piece of signage. You tested it, learned from it, and adjusted. And did you die? No!
That’s “fail fast, learn faster” in action. The next step is being intentional about it—building it into your systems and your culture. This is where we can help you begin implementing some of the tactics that you’ve read about above. But don’t take our word for it, learn from today’s thought leaders.
Want to Learn from today’s Thought Leaders?
These thought leaders are known for helping organizations innovate without getting stuck in perfection:
- Eric Ries – The Lean Startup: Teaches how to build, measure, and learn fast.
- James Clear – Atomic Habits: Offers strategies for recovering from failure and improving through small iterations.
Final Thought: Let Go of Perfection. Lean into Progress.
You don’t need perfect plans. You need momentum. You need curiosity. You need courage.
By adopting a “fail fast, learn faster” mentality, you give your team permission to think creatively, act bravely, and stay adaptable in a constantly shifting environment.
Start with something small. Test. Learn. Repeat.
Your team—and your guests—will thank you for it. Just have fun with it!
Ready to bring this mindset to your whole operation?
High Road Management Training can help you build a culture where innovation, experimentation, and accountability thrive. Let’s work together to create systems and teams that don’t just survive change—but lead through it.
👉 Reach out to us for coaching today to explore how we can support your next bold idea.
