Last mile failure refers to the critical nature of the final steps of a project or goal, with examples including the failure to connect infrastructure to end-users or a salesperson’s failure to close a deal. Success depends on following through to the end.
Last mile failure is a phrase that can be applied to a variety of fields to express the importance of the last step or final details of a project or goal. While the concept can be applied to many circumstances, it appears to have originated in the sphere of technology, specifically related to communications providers. In order to provide Internet, cable or telephone services, companies had to spend a lot of money on building the massive infrastructure needed to make these services available to their customers. Part of that massive infrastructure, however, includes what service companies call the last mile – laying down the cable or phone lines that connect the infrastructure to each end user. Without that last mile, the massive infrastructure became virtually useless because the project’s objective, communication service to its customers, was no longer attainable.
The last mile failure, therefore, focuses on the critical nature of the final steps of a goal. Even if most of the work is done, sometimes that last part can make or break.
Perhaps the most literal application of the concept relates to running a marathon. A runner can spend months preparing for a marathon. He can train every day and practice long distances to increase his stamina. Despite being adequately prepared, if a mile short of approaching the finish, the runner falls and cannot finish the race, he may be said to have experienced last-mile failure in its strictest sense. He has done a lot of preparation but fails in the final leg to reach his goal of finishing or winning the marathon.
A last mile fault can also be applied to the policy. For example, if a political party wants to increase voter turnout, it can invest time and money to encourage registration and voting. If the week or day before the poll takes place, all advertising is stopped, or the political party fails to call or email potential voters on polling day, it may not be successful in increasing voter turnout. The hard work and money invested is essentially wiped out by a failure of the last mile or following up to the minute that this 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 lot of 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 numerous test drives, and even meeting with them for several days. After all that work, the customer might agree to buy the car, but if the salesperson doesn’t see the purchase through to the end (i.e., to the point where the customer signs the paperwork) and rushes to move on to the next customer, the seller may fail the last mile if the first customer ends up changing his mind. In other words, a last mile failure is a salesperson’s failure to close the deal.
Sealing the deal, getting to the end, accomplishing a goal are all the antitheses of a last-mile failure. Whether in business, competition, technology or other fields, the final details of any endeavor matter and can be extremely important to success. Relax too soon and your venture could be subject to last-mile failure. Follow the last few minutes and your project or goal is more likely to succeed.
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