Welcome to One Thing Better. Each week, the editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine (that's me) shares one way to achieve a breakthrough at work — and build a career or company you love.
You're considering something new, but you're stuck.
Maybe it's something small, like taking a class. Or something big, like exploring a career change. You're curious, but you keep thinking: What if I don't like it? What if I'm stuck with something I regret?
So you do nothing. And the opportunity passes by.
Today, I'll show you how to break free from this paralysis — by borrowing insights from both behavioral science and business strategy.
The secret is this: Stop making decisions… and start running experiments.
Before I explain how it works, I'll share how I first learned this myself.
The power of the experiment mindset
A few years ago, I interviewed behavioral scientist Katy Milkman for my book. We were talking about how to make change, and what finally pushes us to act.
Then she told me something that changed how I think:
"This is going to sound like the weirdest piece of advice," she said, "but when we're trying to figure out the right next step, one of the things we do too little of is experiment."
Here's the problem, she said: When we consider new things, we start to fear "premature permanence" — which is to say, we think of every change as a long-term commitment.
Alter our job? We're stuck with it for years. Try a new hobby? We better do it forever.
That is why we hold ourselves back. We're not afraid of new things; we're afraid of committing to them before knowing if they're right.
But if you reframe new things as "experiments," you lower the barrier to entry.
Think of it: When scientists run experiments, they're not trying to guarantee outcomes. They're just gathering data! Maybe the experiment works, or maybe it doesn't — either way, the result was useful.
The experiments in your life
When you frame something new as an experiment, you remove the pressure. The goal isn't to find the perfect solution; it's to test a hypothesis.
"Actually label it: This is an experiment," Milkman told me. "It's not the end. It's not my end goal. I'm exploring."
I'll take it even further: Don't just label something as an experiment — actually define the experiment.
How long will this experiment last? What data are you trying to gather?
Recently, for example, a friend asked me to collaborate on a project. It was intriguing and potentially lucrative, but it was also beyond what I usually do — and I wasn't sure I'd like it.
I didn't want to just say "yes." Yes means I'm all in.
So I told him: "Let's try this for three months. Then we can step back and assess: Was I helpful? Was I worth the money to you, and was the money worth it to me? And was I able to manage this with my existing workload?"
Now I've established clear expectations — for my friend, and for myself. I also created a way to say yes, when I might have otherwise been too afraid.
And if your experiment fails? Don't worry, because...
Most experiments should fail!
That's something I learned from the CEO of GoDaddy.
His name is Aman Bhutani, and I spoke with him a few years ago. He loves experiments — pushing his teams to try new ideas, and test novel concepts. He also tracks all experiments, because wants to see how many succeed and fail.
Here's where this gets surprising: He wants to make sure his team is regularly failing.
This is what Bhutani told me:
"If you're pushing lots of new ideas, and you're doing really innovative things, then your success rate is going to be lower than a third. If win rates are very high, that means people are just doing what they want. Then they said, 'Look, it was an experiment.'"
Consider his logic there:
- If you play it safe, your "experiments" will all be successes.
- But that means you never really pushed yourself.
- If you never push yourself, then you never discover new abilities or interests.
- If you DO push yourself, you will fail a lot — but also discover transformative things.
- Therefore, true growth comes with a high failure rate.
Or to put it more plainly: When your experiments fail, you're doing it right.
That's one of the most liberating ideas I've ever heard.
Think back to your last failed experiment
As I reflect on this, I keep coming back to an old memory.
In college, my girlfriend was considering a career in neuroscience. She loved reading books about the brain, but wasn't sure if she'd like the work.
So she did something bold: She got a six-month internship at a local hospital. Turns out, she hated it and lost interest in neuroscience.
I thought she'd wasted her time. But she was very satisfied with this. Imagine the alternative, she said — she could have spent years studying neuroscience, and only then discovered that she didn't like it!
She was right. Her six-month internship was a valuable experiment, and the "failure" was a great success.
The world is unpredictable, but testable
There are many things we don't know.
Will we like or hate something? Will we have a great or terrible time? Will it be fun or awkward?
There is only one way to know: We must do it.
Stop waiting for the perfect opportunity. Stop hoping for a guarantee of success. Just start experimenting. Label it as such. Give it time to develop. And remember that the goal isn't to succeed at everything — it's to learn from everything.
Failure means you're doing it right.
That's how to do one thing better.
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Final notes for today...
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P.P.P.S. Miss last week's newsletter? It was about how to keep going when all else fails. Read.
That's all for this week! See you next Tuesday.
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