
For
some reason in the UK we find it hard to deal with failure. Even the
thought comes with a stigma and in general people are reluctant to
discuss the subject. In some other countries, failure is not seen as
something to be embarrassed or ashamed of. It's just accepted as a part
of everyday life and something you can learn from.
If you want to be truly successful in life then one of the first things to do is understand and accept the concept of failure.
A
key characteristic of entrepreneurs is that they are ready and willing
to take risks. Of course the best ones minimise the risk and make it a
calculated one. But when you do this, you must be open to the fact that
things could potentially go wrong along the way.
If you become
afraid of failure then it will make you too afraid to take these risks,
which in itself can be a fatal business flaw as it hinders progress and
development. As many people say, if you don't buy a ticket, you'll never
win the lottery.
The majority of business people do not strike
gold every time. I have experienced plenty of failures along the way.
The real secret of success is not to become disheartened by failure. I
have found that the most confident and successful people in business are
the ones who have learnt to take failure in their stride.
Rather
than being embarrassed or ashamed because you have tried to do something
and failed, you should look at what you did and examine why it didn't
work. When I invested in the failing sandwich chain Benjys, I went
against all my business principles and completed the deal in less than a
week. Despite having very little knowledge of the sector, I thought I
could turn it around, especially as it still had a recognisable brand.
Six months later I had to hold my hands up and admit it was a lost
cause. They say you should never catch a falling knife but that's
exactly what happened with Benjys.
The key lesson I took from that
was to stick to my belief in proper due diligence and analysing every
deal thoroughly. It also reinforced my attitude that if you are going to
fail, do it quickly. Once you realise that things aren't going to get
any better, it is best to get out while you can, rather than continuing
just to try and save face.
I am also a firm believer that success
is a journey rather than a destination. We should always be looking at
how we do things so they can be even better next time. This also applies
if you have been successful – rather than resting on your laurels, keep
analysing and look for any areas of improvement.
In other words,
you can learn as much from your successes as you can from your failures.
When it comes to business, fear and complacency are both equally
harmful approaches to take.