As always I’m working on a project, and in this case, I have been interviewing entrepreneurs to get their perspective about what it takes to successfully start a business and sustain it. It’s been very interesting, and I’m sure that you will be hearing more about it as I write what will be a lengthy popular press article. One of the people I interviewed is someone whom I’ve known for over two decades. He is a great example of someone who has succeeded in their field, has their personal and spiritual priorities in the right places, and has built a lasting business that continues to provide for his family and the families of many employees. It’s really a great success story.
One of the things that impressed me about his success is the level of preparation which he put into starting and sustaining his business. In the simplest of terms, he did his homework. When I asked what he specifically did before the business was started, I was guided through an extensive list of things he did to prepare. It covered everything from business plans to attorneys to client development and operating systems. It seemed that he thought of everything before he took the plunge. But then a very significant thing was mentioned. The reason for the high level of preparation was because he had failed at two businesses prior to starting the one that ultimately succeeded on a huge scale. He learned to become uber-prepared because he had learned what didn’t work. He positioned himself to succeed because he had experienced the horror of failing.
So I ask, could it be that he ultimately succeeded because he had failed? Was the failure in his life the primary contributor to becoming wealthy, balanced and healthy? When it comes to the preparation to succeed, I contend that failure, though not an enjoyable experience, is a necessary experience to live through if one truly wants to succeed in life. Long ago, I came across a quote attributed to Walt Disney in which he stated, “In order to succeed, what people need is a good, hard failure.” My friend who had failed twice before he succeeded later continued his story and told me how he started another few businesses, all failures, then he came upon a great idea at the right time and wildly succeeded again! Then he lost a ton of money on another deal, then got it all back. It may sound like a roller coaster of emotion and energy, heartache and exhilaration, but I can assure you that today my friend is a very happy person. He quoted Peter Drucker, who stated, “People who want to be successful must learn to fail faster,” meaning if one wants to succeed, they need to get in the game and make the mistakes which will teach you how to succeed. My friend told me that one of his biggest regrets is that he didn’t try to start enough businesses. If he had, even though he might have had a few more failures, he would also have had a few more successes.
The leadership point is that there are too many times when leaders are so fearful of failing that they don’t try anything new, and they miss the opportunity to learn from their mistakes. My friend became a master of preparation, mostly because of the learning process of failing. I want to encourage all of us who lead others to be willing to take risks, learn from things that go wrong, and use failure as a springboard for success. Start more initiatives. Some will fail, some will succeed, but the more you step out and risk it all, the more times things will become over-the-top achievements that benefit everyone.
The Boy Scouts say “Be prepared.” For leaders, part of that is learning how to fail, learn and try again.
Lead Well