Fail Often, Fail Fast

Failure. It has such negative connotations. Most of us likely shudder at the prospect of failure.

There is a clear recollection in my mind that deals with failure. It was 1994. I had left this thing called a salary behind to enter the world of the entrepreneur. I was about eight months into this new venture when I bumped into a high school friend.  He and his family were attending a local event on the upcoming weekend and invited my family and me to join them.

I was at the bank on the Friday before the planned outing, hoping to take out some cash for the weekend event. Before beginning the withdrawal process, I was struck with the thought that I may not be able to afford to take out $20.  While pondering this, I couldn’t help but wonder what financial predicament I had created for myself. What had I had done to my family and myself by starting this new business? What had I been thinking?

While this line of thinking was spoiling my normally positive demeanor, it suddenly struck me that I could actually fail at this new business. I can even recall leaning my forehead against the wall as this thought thudded through my mind.

There it was.  The dreaded word, FAILURE.

When you stop and think about it, failure can actually be a good thing. Now, please recognize that I’m not talking about driving your car off a cliff because the brakes failed. Rather, I’m referring to having the opportunity to try something new as a direct consequence of a failure. We learn from our mistakes, and this learning can prove to be enriching in ways we had never considered.

Just think. If the first time we tried something new and it didn’t work, we might be inclined to stop experimenting … to stop tinkering … to stop trying. We might assume that what we were presently doing was the best way to get this particular thing accomplished – but how would we actually know? Worse yet, would we be opening ourselves up to becoming complacent about how we run our business?

Failure, on the other hand, is a clear indication that we need to try something else – and just perhaps, that will lead to a better outcome.

Failing often can lead to better outcomes. Failing fast can get us that outcome faster.

By the way, back in the bank, I woke up to the idea that I might not succeed in my business endeavour, but I realized that it would not be a failure.  After all, how can you be failing when you are learning so much!  I took out $20.