Fail Follow-Up

Written by Manager on September 6th, 2013. Posted in Entrepreneurship

Last week I wrote a blog called, Fail,Fail, FAIL! I thought it was only right to post a follow-up!

So, what happens after you take a risk, meet a challenge head on, try something new and…..it doesn’t go so well? Do you turn tale and run? If you’re an entrepreneur, no. By definition, you don’t run and hide but you may not keep plowing forward either. Here are the options that I usually see successful people taking:

1. They are so convicted that they do plow ahead. At the root is resiliency and great motivation. These are must have characteristics of the entrepreneur. Remember, though, to balance a great sense of passion and drive with good sense, measurement, re-thinking & re-strategizing. While passion is a powerful motivator it can also be a dangerous one. Just because you’re passionate about something doesn’t mean that who you perceive to be your customer really is. What do they need and want? Or, if they don’t know they need and want it (remember that not so long ago most of us didn’t know we NEEDED cell phones, computers, notepads, etc.), what’s your plan to get them on board?

2. They……Stop! Breathe! Re-evaluate! Part of any launch strategy should be a plan to measure results. What if you don’t like the results? What if the unexpected shows up? What if, it’s a total flop? Are you/it a failure? Not unless you don’t do #3!! (I have a friend that calls this “failing fast”)

3. They LEARN. Be curious, not certain (my favorite saying!!). Ask more questions. Document the journey. Evolve. Be open to the birth of a new idea. Try tweaking the old one. Entrepreneurship is a dance. It moves and sways with the beat of the customer and with the beat of your heart. As the heartbeat of your business, it is a reflection of you. As you grow so will the business. DON’T STOP GROWING!

4. They try again. And again, and again, and again, and again. We all know that it took Thomas Edison 10,000 tries before the light bulb worked. I can’t even begin to imagine what that kind of conviction entails. So, we’re back to conviction. What is yours? Can you feel it, taste it, breathe it, articulate it, live it, share it? If not, you may need to get a job because THAT’S THE BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EMPLOYEES AND ENTREPRENEURS. Two people in the last week came to me with a host of ideas. They both mentioned getting paid for simply sharing their ideas. After a point this might be possible-to join a think tank or something. In the meantime, it’s the EXECUTION that counts. And execution takes strategy and persistence. And strategy and persistence are preceded by vision and purpose-which usually grow out of interest, passion and an eye for opportunity.

So, we’re back to the beginning. Identify an opportunity, try, be willing to fail, learn, try again, RE-GROUP, re-examine your motivation, your customer, and the idea in general. Learn from all of it. [This is what the “serial entrepreneur” is made of, by the way. One shot wonders are just lucky. The rest of us keep evolving and looking for new opportunity. We embrace change and share our ideas with the world. But……WE ARE NEVER FAILURES!]

Are you ready to fail, to try again and to learn in the process?

Say YES!