I Enjoy Being Wrong

Believe it or not, I enjoy being wrong. Many, many people would feel uncomfortable with the possibility of being wrong. Some people avoid being wrong at any cost. They feel as though if they’re wrong, then they are lesser somehow.

Here’s the caveat: I’m wrong on a lot on little things. Much like the airplane that makes hundreds of course corrections during a flight which ends up where it’s supposed to end up, being wrong doesn’t mean the end of the world so long as you’re moving in the right direction.

If you think that every piece of ad copy you write is right, there’s a problem. If you think every design or message created is the “right one”, that’s a problem. If you’re not open to potentially being wrong, then you’re going to move with such caution and deliberation that you’re going to be moving so slowly that if you are wrong you won’t discover it until it’s WAY TOO LATE. And once you’ve accepted that you were in fact, wrong, then the process for changing the wrong will be either a turtle’s pace (too slow) or a panicked rabbit’s pace (not deliberate enough). Moving too slowly or not deliberately enough leads to more wrong.

Testing things make you wrong, and there’s no shame or failure in that. No one ever got something right without the risk of being wrong. Being wrong quickly means that you’re going to find out what works better quickly. I might be wrong, but it won’t be for long.

Another thing about being “right”: it doesn’t last long. What once worked today won’t work soon. Think about how many times the largest beverage company in the world has changed its slogan or catchphrase over the years. Their marketing massages are constantly changing, and they’ve been the largest for a long time.

So be wrong more often! Embrace the learning that comes from being proven wrong and adjust to get better.