Things can go wrong even when you do everything right.

It’s not good enough to just be right. To a very real extent, the phrase “the ends justify the means” can feel too close to the truth. 

Let’s start over. Outcomes are sometimes independent from process. What this means is that sometimes everything works out perfectly even when everything goes wrong, all the wrong people say no, every step of the way has issues, and the schedule and budget are mismanaged. Even then, sometimes things works out. Similarly, sometimes everything falls apart even when the process was perfect.

When everything falls apart for no reason, it can be easy to justify shortcuts or doing things the wrong way to fix the outcome. Surely, this time you can stray to get the outcome that should have happened. 

In reality, both process and outcomes matter. Doing things the right way is important. Achieving your objectives is important. Plenty of important people have been found out in the cold because only one or the other didn’t happen for them. 

All this to say, sometimes things don’t work out and there was nothing you could do about it. Don’t let it get you down, sometimes you lose when you shouldn’t.