Micro Failure

Failure is not an achievement and it's certainly nothing to be proud of.

When you fail in business you lose money and often wreck the lives of your employees. The current flippant and arrogant approach to failure is disrespectful to everyone who works with and depends on you for their livelihood.

The glorification of failure is bullshit. There is no value in failure but there is value in the knowledge obtained through failing if you’re open to learning.

Failing could be fatal

We don’t live in a failure tolerant society. If you go bankrupt, it's unlikely you'll be given money to start something new. Your personal credit rating will be screwed and you won’t be able to get credit again for a very long time, if ever.

Failure is brutal and difficult to recover from. It can be expensive, frustrating, humiliating and emotionally challenging - it could fucking kill you so try to avoid it at all costs.

Focus on success

The way I see it, success is a state of mind and being. It's relative to what you want to achieve and long term it's a goal post that's constantly moving. Set specific, measurable goals to help you measure whether you’re succeeding.

Acknowledge and celebrate all of your successes as well as those of your team. Focus on quick wins to gain momentum and add positive energy.

Embrace micro failure

Prepare for the micro failures so your business can become resilient and sustainable.

It’s impossible to avoid failure altogether so building tolerances into your business and processes is crucial. Learning to be flexible helps you cope; you need to adapt when things go wrong and constantly keep re-prioritising what you and your team focus on.

Fail fast so you have enough time to find a solution and save the situation. It's time to start avoiding failure by embracing micro failure and fast iteration.

Be irrationally optimistic

Be optimistic to the point that it exceeds all logic because the day you lose hope is the beginning of the end.

Don’t let negative energy affect you. Look for the positive in difficult situations, and if you’re feeling down get out of the office or your usual environment and do something different.

Whatever you do, don't be negative around your team as this will dampen their spirits and impact their productivity. Stress is your burden to bear, not theirs.

Acknowledge failure but don’t accept defeat, and always remember, if it was easy everyone would be doing it.