Stumbling, tripping, falling. They’re a fact of life everybody has to contend with. Even if you were to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth, there comes a time when you have to leave the nest and embark on your journey. Failure is something so integral to life that if you don’t find yourself failing from time to time, then you’re never going to learn how to handle it when it inevitably hits you.
Most business entrepreneurs and corporations tend to fail all the time. Anybody telling you their ideas are always going to land the mark is either lying to you, has never experienced true failure before, or is just plain dumb. For this article, we’re going to explore why failure is natural, how you can handle said failure, and what the best tips are for learning from your failure. We’re also going to give some major examples of very successful entrepreneurs’ failures to show how they managed to eventually find their success.
Table of Contents
Why Failing Is Necessary
They say that when you hit rock bottom, the only way out is up. That’s what failure is in a nutshell. It’s a slump, a bad turn, a mistake. But the thing about failure is that when you do fail, you start to understand things that you could’ve done better. It makes you appreciate it a little more.
To understand why failure is important, we first need to do a cross-examination of the problems of succeeding too often. Yes, you heard that right. Success can often be just as detrimental as failure when not achieved in adequate amounts. Let’s break it down a bit further, shall we?
Fly and Die Like Icarus
Picture yourself in a position where every step of your life you’ve never stumbled. Not once. It sounds unrealistic, but keep in mind that there are people out there who have lived like that. All your business ventures have hit the ground running. Nothing can stop you, because there’s nothing that strong. But in being successful for so long, you develop a sense of pride and ego.
Your businesses are so perfect; what’s the worry in making a few bad choices here and there? Why do I have to listen to what anybody else tells me? I’m always right! It’s what you keep telling yourself over and over again. Slowly, however, everything starts to slip away. Your products aren’t launching properly. Turnover rates at the company are the highest they’ve ever been. New talent doesn’t want to work at your place. The list of issues goes on and on. And as you hit rock bottom, you grab a shovel and you dig deeper. That’s what succeeding too much does to a person. It feeds your pride and ego, and it shuts you off from reasonable decision-making.
If you want a good example of a business whose pride and ego led to its company’s downfall, look no further than BlackBerry. For those young enough to still think we’re talking about the fruit, BlackBerry was one of the leading cellphone brands back in the early 2000s. The BlackBerry phone line was the darling child of many business entrepreneurs.
By 2008, BlackBerry was at the height of its game. Then the iPhone happened at the exact same time. BlackBerry, being the Goliath that it was, scoffed at David’s supposed challenge. What the business failed to see was that Apple would soon succeed. It was Apple that completely decimated BlackBerry, leaving them groveling in the dust after the company lost almost its entire market share to both the new smartphone king and Google.
Safe to say, much like all great powers, BlackBerry’s time had finally come. Most of their problems could have been avoided if they simply set aside their hubris and focused on innovating and challenging the market, much like Apple was doing at the time. Instead, they tried to take a bite and got cast out and have yet to return.
Little Blunders
Now we’re not here to suggest that you should actively try to fail. Or that you should fail every single step of the way. We do want to point out that organic failure is only natural. If you’re trying to get a startup off the ground, then chances are that unless you get very lucky, you’re going to fail. Assuming you do succeed, however, you will be met with small, minuscule failures.
These failures will accumulate over time into something far more egregious and constantly test your business every step of the way. The thing is, though, they’re there for a reason. And that’s to serve as a reminder that you need to learn a lesson. Small incremental failures are understandable, but when they keep cropping up, it’s important to nip them in the bud. In doing so, you’re showing improvement and growth and preventing yourself from falling over the same stumbling blocks that have plagued you forever.
Changing Stripes
Let’s go back a few steps and look at our previous anecdote of making a start-up and failing. Let’s assume your start-up did fail. It didn’t get off the ground, and you realize the idea doesn’t work. Or let’s say your business, which has been going fine so far, has failed to adapt to changing market conditions, and you’re ultimately kicked off the stage. What do you do when this happens? Do you keep going, or do you jump ship? You change how you approach things.
When it comes to your approach, it’s important to realize that you still have a way out. If something is not working, then it’s best not to bash your head against it constantly in the hopes that eventually things will work out. Sometimes you have to take what you’re doing and what your company is and completely reinvent it. If you don’t think that’s how things work, then here’s a good example for you.
In 1998, there was a small, US-based DVD rental store. The company’s goal was similar to that of Blockbuster at the time: let people rent movies from their webpage and make money. Of course, there was no competing with Blockbuster. But this company still managed to keep itself afloat using its business model.
After years upon years of struggling and living in the shadows, this company decided to reinvent itself. It decided that instead of renting out the movies, why not use the internet and have people subscribe to watch them instead, all under one single umbrella? And it became a huge success. The concept of video streaming became so ubiquitous with this company that a lot of other businesses started following in its footsteps. If you couldn’t guess by now, the company’s name is Netflix.
In taking on a pretty bold digital-first maneuver, Netflix didn’t just usurp Blockbuster. It became Blockbuster. Heck, it invalidated the sheer concept of Blockbuster.
Moral of The Story
I think it’s becoming clearer by now that, ultimately, failure is natural, and it’s not just a fact of life; it’s a tool. Failure is something that you adapt to. It shapes you and molds you. It’s something that takes you to the lowest lows for you to get yourself back on track. And of course, it’s important because it’s something you learn from.
Without failure, there would be no risks to take. There would also be no reinventing the wheel because if everything a business does works, why go beyond and make something new? Now, you may be assuming the story ends there. But there’s a lot more to say beyond this point regarding failure. Let’s move on to how one can cope with failure and come back stronger from it.
Coping With Failure
Failure is hard to deal with. Especially when you go through multiple failures at a time. Life can turn into something that’s very demotivating. Here are our top 5 suggestions on what to do when you’re failing and don’t know what to do.
Keep That Pinky Raised
Remember, when in doubt, keep that pinky out. Failure is something that elicits highly negative feelings from us. And these feelings culminate in self-doubt and a lot of depreciating self-worth. But the thing is that that’s not what failure is trying to do. The end goal of all stumbling blocks is for you to take a short respite. Reassess the situation and then move on from there.
If you tell yourself that you’re going to quit, then eventually you will. And when you do that’s when you’ve truly failed. So instead of succumbing to your defeat, you must keep a healthy mindset and keep moving forward. That way, you can still salvage what you may have left and do better next time.
Keep Calm, Analyze, and Identify
We’ve pointed this out quite a few times, but when you fail, it’s important to keep a calm and relaxed mindset. Panicking is only going to lead to more problems and hasty decisions that will lead to your downfall. In keeping calm, you can better assess what’s going on and what to do exactly in your situation so as not to completely lose sight of your goals.
Once you’ve got that level head, the second most important thing to do is to assess the situation. Make sure to pick apart what went wrong and how you got to the situation. Think critically about your key problems and what you can do to solve them. When you do, be sure not to make the same mistakes twice.
Don’t be Like Sisyphus
There’s a classic Greek legend of a king named Sisyphus who was punished by the gods in an exceptionally cruel way. You see, Sisyphus was condemned in the underworld to push a boulder up a hill. However, every time the boulder would reach the top, it would roll back down. Sisyphus would then have to push it back up. This action would repeat for all eternity.
Some people out there cope with failure in a highly Sisyphian manner. They can’t understand why they keep failing, but they continue to go through the same process over and over again, hoping that one day they’ll reach a certain result. It leads to an existence that lacks any purpose or meaning. And while we did say not to quit, we do think there are times when, rather than pushing the boulder up the hill, it’s important to embrace a little change.
Appreciate the Team
No business is ever a one-man army. It’s the culmination of multiple talented people working together to achieve something far greater than themselves. Everybody has a role to fill. And when it comes to failure, no single person is being impacted the most. The entire team takes a hit because of failure.
That’s why it’s important to appreciate everyone’s contribution to the efforts being made. In doing so, you promote loyalty and make everyone feel valued. This sort of positive resurgence is effective. It causes everyone to reassess their way of thinking and allows them to keep moving forward. It also helps if, as a leader of a business, you take steps to hear out your team so that you can better manage problems and concerns everyone may be having.
Maintain the Courage to Take Leaps of Faith
Failure makes us believe that risks are not worth taking. That if we step out of line, we’ll end up getting hurt. But here’s the thing: that’s not the case. Failure is good at putting you back in line briefly, but it shouldn’t warp your company’s mindset into a bubble that you can’t get out of.
If you use the tips above, then failure is a great opportunity to take a leap of faith that’s far more educated. You have landed in the dirt before, but with better knowledge and aim, you will eventually succeed.
Coming Back Stronger
We hope that after reading this, you’ll have a bit more confidence in yourself. And that you’ll walk away with a better grasp of why failing (organically) is important and natural. We’d also like to finish this article with the following quote in mind: “You may see failure; yet I see success in slow motion.”
Do you have any interesting stories or anecdotes about certain business blunders? Don’t be afraid to talk about them in the comments below. And if you want further insights from experts in the business world, drop us an email anytime. You can also find more articles like this at Evolvedash today!
FAQs
- What are some common reasons businesses usually fail?
Businesses tend to go under due to a variety of reasons. Sometimes it can be poor leadership or a lack of cash. Other times, they’re the right business for the wrong time, which stifles customer growth.
- What kind of mindset should I have for tackling failure?
You should keep a growth-oriented mindset. So long as you believe that with effort and learning, you can achieve your goals and succeed in places where you once failed.
- How can my business create a culture that embraces failure?
Start by celebrating small wins and smart failures. In doing so, you’ll learn to take things in stride and make the most of bad situations.
- When should I pivot, and when should I persist?
You persist when feedback tells you that you have an avenue to do better. You pivot when feedback tells you that something is a lost cause.
- Can failure improve relationships with customers?
Yes, actually. Customers value honesty and integrity. Owning up to a failure assures them that you’re willing to take accountability and are keen to learn to do better.
