Last mile failure is the critical nature of the final stages of a goal, which can make or break success. It originated in the technological sphere, specifically related to communications providers, and can be applied to various fields. The final details of any endeavor matter and can be critically important to success.
Last mile failure is a phrase that can be applied to a variety of fields to express the importance of the last leg or finishing details of a project or goal. While the concept can be applied to many circumstances, it appears to have originated in the technological sphere, specifically related to communications providers. To provide Internet, cable or telephone services, companies have had to spend a lot of money building the massive infrastructure needed to make those services available to their customers. Part of that massive infrastructure, however, includes what utility companies have called the last mile: laying the cable or telephone lines that connect the infrastructure to each end user. Without this last mile, the massive infrastructure was rendered essentially useless because the project’s goal, the communications service for its customers, was no longer achievable.
Last mile failure, therefore, focuses on the critical nature of the final stages of a goal. Even if most of the work is done, sometimes that last part can make or break success.
Perhaps the most literal application of the concept involves running a marathon. A runner can spend months preparing for a marathon. He can train every day and practice running long distances to build up his endurance. Despite being adequately prepared, if a mile before approaching the finish, the runner falls and fails to finish the race, it can be said that he experiences a last mile failure in its strictest sense. He has prepared a lot but fails in the last stage to reach his goal of finishing or winning the marathon.
A last mile bankruptcy can also apply to politics. For example, if a political party wants to increase voter participation, the party could invest time and money to encourage voter registration and voting. If the week or day before the poll occurs, all advertising stops, or the political party does not phone or email prospective voters on polling day, it may fail to increase voter turnout. Hard work and money invested are essentially written off by a last mile failure or by following up to the minute that goal could be achieved.
Perhaps the easiest way to think of this concept is to consider the car salesman. A car salesman can spend a long time convincing someone to buy a car. He may spend a lot of time briefing the customer on the car’s features, taking them on multiple test drives, and even meeting with them over multiple days. After all of this work, the customer might agree to buy the car, but if the car salesman doesn’t see the purchase until it’s done (i.e. at the point where the customer signs the paperwork) and moves on to the next customer rather quickly , the seller could fail at the last mile if the first customer ends up changing his mind. In other words, a last-mile bust is the inability of a salesperson to seal the deal.
Sealing the deal, reaching the end, reaching a goal are all antitheses to a last mile failure. Whether it’s in business, competition, technology, or other industries, the final details of any endeavor matter and can be critically important to success. Relax too soon and your commitment can be prone to last-mile failure. Follow the last few minutes and your project or goal is more likely to succeed.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
