Archive for April 17th, 2008
The Advantages of Failure
Jeff Wuorio writes about business and financial issues for Money, Business Week, Fortune, etc. He also has a blog that I check out on a regular basis. In one his many short pieces I’ve referenced he discussed the importance of making mistakes, which can be summed up thus: If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough.
In a tight economy it can difficult to convince yourself (or others!) that failure can be beneficial, Wuorio’s offers these three advantages of failure:
- Failure emphasizes the need to take chances. The cliché in this case, is accurate: No guts, no glory.
- Success breeds complacency, when everything is smooth sailing, you’re less likely to try something new…and you’ll eventually lose out to hungrier, less risk-adverse competitiors.
- Failure makes you rethink, reassess and re-evaluate. It challenges your assumptions. It forces you into a new way of approaching your business. Because the old way obviously didn’t work.
There’s nothing really groundbreaking about these ideas, but the next time something doesn’t go exactly as planned, remember, there’s an important entrepreneurial lesson to be gained!
1 comment 17 April 2008
