The other day, someone pointed out to me that success and failure have one clear common denominator.  They are both temporary. I thought for a moment and then smiled. This is so true. I look at people I have worked with, and organizations I have mentored and consulted to. Some have ongoing success—some have failures. But both success and failure are truly just temporary.

I believe, and my personal experience and that of the Partnership Group – Sponsorship Specialists® has proven, that success does not come from resting. It comes from continually trying to improve. It comes from working hard and working smart. It comes from listening to others and constantly learning. When we win a competitive piece of business, we always ask the supplier why we won. What differentiated us? What put us at the front of the pack? And when we don’t win a competitive bid, we ask why. In over 15 years of business, we have only had two organizations we did not win refuse to tell us why. Everyone else spent time with us so we could learn what we did right to get us to the short list or second place, as well as what we could have done differently that may have put us at #1. Sometimes, it is something we will learn from and make changes; sometimes it isn’t. When it isn’t, it is often based on price—and we know our worth. Or perhaps it is an approach we use with which they disagree. So be it. You can’t win them all. But you need to keep learning. If you don’t, your success will be temporary. Failure to change and adapt will ensure that your present success becomes very temporary.

Likewise, I have seen organizations whose sponsorship success has been “below average,” and in some cases, even worse. When we have worked with them; when they have followed the processes and good practices we provide, they improve. With improvement, failure becomes temporary and the shift is to success.

It is simple. Both success and failure are temporary. Only you and your actions can determine how temporary!

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