In business, as in life, we sometimes fail to accomplish our goals. Just like every human on the planet, I have failed along the way.
Here are a few insights I’ve pulled from those failures. Be sure to add your thoughts and insight.
I really hate failing.
The feeling I get from failing is the same feeling I got back when I played football and we lost a game; I don’t care for it much. No one likes failing and especially not me. Sure, I know that we can have a positive attitude and learn from our failures. However, that’s not my point. At the end of the day, we play to win; not just to learn.
The attitude a person has towards “failure”, I think, is very telling.
Failure doesn’t mean game over.
If you’re the kind of person who packs up every time something doesn’t go your way, business is likely not for you. To entrepreneurs, failure isn’t seen as the end of the road but rather an obstacle that has to be dealt with.
If something doesn’t work, consider trying a different approach.
Failure often leads to new insight.
Likewise, these obstacles often lead to new insight. For example, I recently tried to entice two developers to go in on a startup idea with me in exchange for equity and a normal salary. I assumed that these two particular individuals would be motivated by money and the opportunity to be involved in an exciting startup. I failed to realize that, because of where these two individuals were at in their lives, they wouldn’t be motivated by the same things I am motivated by. In short, I learned several very valuable lessons there.
Side note: If you’re an entrepreneur/developer and are interested in learning more about that particular opportunity, feel free to contact me.
Some failure is better than no failure.
One thing that I often find a bit strange is when people express the notion that failing is good. How is it good if you fail all of the time? I think that this is just a nice way to say “don’t be discouraged…there’s always next time”.
I’m all about being positive but let’s not fool ourselves; if you fail continually, you’re doing something wrong. The only good thing that comes from failure is what we learn from that failure. If we keep failing, have we really learned anything?
In business, you will fail from time to time. However, don’t be satisfied with failing and try your best to avoid failure all together.
Some things increase the probability of failure.
I’ve come to realize that certain things increase the probability of failure. There are quite a few, however, here are three that top the list in my opinion.
- Lazy people – don’t waste your time with a lazy person. There is nothing in the world you could possibly do to get them moving. If you bring a lazy person on board, you’re in for a rude awakening.
- Lack of planning – I often talk about how important it is to have a solid plan. However, most people fail to do it. As a result, they fail to accomplish what they are after. Have a plan and make progress.
- Inappropriate timing – Sometimes you have everything right except the timing. Timing is just as important as planning; if you don’t time your startup launch just right, you increase the chances of failure.
Conclusion
So there you have it; a few thing I’ve learned from failure over the years. I’m sure that there is quite a bit more insight that could be added to this list.
What are your thoughts on failure?