Successfully doing something that has never been done before (innovating) is sort of like shooting an arrow at a target while blindfolded. You know where you want to go but until you draw back on the bow string and launch, you can't be certain where the arrow will land.

You get psyched.
Relax your shoulders.
Dry your hands on your pant legs.
Take one last look at the target.
Secure the blindfold.
Grip the handle and pull back on the bow string.
Take a deep breath.
And release!

Whoosh.... Fump! Pulling off your blinders, reveals... ???

You missed. The arrow only made it about 70% of the distance. Failure.

Bummer.

When we put a new idea into action through successful implementation, we declare it an innovation. A success. If we miss the target, we call it a failure.

Success or failure.
On or off.
No or yes.
We're pretty black-and-white about this.

But wait, in reality you don't pack your quiver and go home... THAT would be true failure.

Because indeed there IS a gray area... It's that space between the new idea and success. The place where your arrow landed. However, it is so overlooked we haven't even had a word for it. Until now.

The folks at New Shoes Today have dubbed this a nearling. A nearling is "something new we undertake with the right intention but which has not (yet) led to the desired result."

Nearling is a great word. It sounds like cross between "nearly there" and "yearling." Something that surely needs a bit more care but is on the right path.

Best practices come from applying what someone else has done to what you're doing. When you do something that has never been done - there are no best practices. Nearlings provide you with "next practices." This first attempt doesn't make your archery project a failure - it's a nearling. You have learned something. Perhaps taught someone else something, too. You now know to aim a bit higher and put more tension in the string. Try again.

What nearlings do you have? Visit the Nearling website at nearling.com. Be inspired by others and share your own.

tox•oph•i•lite |täkˈsäfəˌlīt| - noun, a student or lover of archery.