My great grandmother, my grandmother and my father have long passed down the saying “I can’t, never did anything.” Yeah, no shit.
There isn't a day that passes where I don’t hear about some sort of failure. In life. In business. In work. This isn't a terrible thing. Failure is a part of success. Many failures have even adopted the line that “you can’t succeed without first failing”, which was probably written by the same person who said “all PR is good PR.”
The failing stories I hear about rarely include the line “I tried my best.” And that’s my concern – people who perceive that they are trying, when they haven’t even taken a first step toward the possibility of failure, or success.
In an earlier column, I wrote about success and failure leading to the fear of change. This is part of it, but change only happens when you can sidestep the thought of possible consequences and fully experience it. Failure, though, can happen without you even moving an inch.
If I were given a dollar every time someone told me they were going to write a book, I would have at least $600. If I were given a dollar every time I said I would write a book, I would have $700 (even though I have written one, just not the other 699). Regardless of previous successes of a person, failures can pop up at any moment.
In business, far too often I hear about failures – businesses that ultimately went belly up. I often wonder what went wrong in the owner’s process. Was it lack of business or lack of effort? When a business opens, there are really only two outcomes – positive or negative. Either the business beats your expectations or it doesn't. There is no gray area. No one plans on being average (and if you do, just stop reading).
Now, to avoid failure, figure out your tries. What are they and are you prepared to do them? Let’s take a new restaurant, for argument’s sake. Have you tried the following to succeed before failing?
- Have you stood outside the grocery store and invited people to come try your restaurant? Have you gotten to know your neighbors? Have you asked them to come in for a buy one, friend eats free?
- Have you created a daily discipline for your staff, during slow hours, to hit the streets and market?
- Have you spent money on advertising – not just in typical print or direct mail, but in creative things like little leagues, bar urinals or churches?
- Are you OK giving away product for trial – in that you are so confident that if someone tries your food, they will fall in love?
- Do you understand that if you look at Groupon as a form of advertising, you don’t count the loss the same way? In fact, you look at the glass half-full instead of empty?
The same goes for co-workers:
- Can you point to something magical that you have done for your company to deserve a raise? Do you know what something magical is?
- Have you invited a co-worker out for lunch to pick their brain on how you can be a better employee?
- Have you scheduled a one-on-one with your boss to ask the same question?
- Each week, can you point to something you did that was uncomfortable – outside that safe zone?
- Do you dream of the top? Do you make a proactive effort to reach the top?
I owe my dad a lot for passing on that saying to me. I have tried many times and have failed (I run on the treadmill and then have a beer), but at least I try. And at least at the end of every day I can say I am trying my best to be a better person, a better business owner, a better boss and a better family man. I am on a mission of trying. Hopefully my effort will continually lead to more successes than failures.
