In our recent blog on the topic of experimentation, we focused on why we believe Q4 is the perfect time to run small-scale, low-investment experiments that can sharpen your strategy and increase your chances of achieving your corporate goals in 2025.

That being said, we understand that in a performance and pace-driven world, experimentation can be easier said than done. In our work with organizations, hesitation to experiment often comes down to one reason:

Risk aversion
Every organization sets out to be successful; every organization takes steps to mitigate the risk of failure. As a result, they make safe bets to repeat what has worked in the past. This dynamic is especially pronounced in organizations in highly-regulated industries, but very few organizations in any industry have truly mastered striking a balance between taking and mitigating risks.

In some scenarios, a safe bet is the right business decision. But the challenge is that the world is shifting so quickly that a strategy that worked even as recently as one or two years ago is not going to guarantee your success today. A new business landscape requires new approaches – and novelty requires some degree of risk.

Missing opportunities
The danger with running programs or projects that you know are safe, or that have worked in the past, is that you might not get the same outcomes in today’s market. Moreover, you may find yourself behind competitors who are making bigger bets to innovate and find new ways to serve their customers. Recent research by Kingston University London indicated that, eighty years ago, the average S&P 500 company had a 67-year lifespan; now, the average lifespan is 15 years. One of the factors found to distinguish the longest-lasting companies was their disruptive edge.

To put this in terms of your day-to-day working life, instead of shying away from generative AI, how can you run experiments with it to improve an aspect of your business? Where can you find low-stakes opportunities to experiment and test out the opportunities it provides to gain efficiencies? In this sense, being risk averse is as much a liability as it is an asset.

Companies with a culture of experimentation fail faster and smarter than their competitors, and come away with insights their competitors lack. As Q4 is now underway, I urge you to pilot that new program you’ve been considering, revamp the meeting that just never leads to the right outputs, test out the feedback approach you read about recently, and integrate the lessons quickly into your strategy and plans for next year to set yourself and your organization up for transformative success in 2025. To start experimenting with any of our solutions, click here.