TO SUCCEED MORE, FAIL MORE
Failure is the foundation of success, and the means by which it is achieved—Lao Tzu
A n aspiring young man once asked a very prominent CEO how he could become more successful. The CEO was Tom Watson of IBM, who reportedly responded that if the young man wanted to become more successful he should do the seemingly unthinkable—fail. In fact, Watson advised that he should double his failure rate . At first glance this is an odd prescription indeed. Upon closer inspection, however, it contains a great deal of wisdom.
A failure should not be viewed as the end of the story but instead as a stepping-stone to a larger success. If someone never fails, this is a telltale sign that he is not trying anything new or challenging. Mastering new skills and growing as individuals require that we enter unfamiliar arenas that can provide us with new knowledge and capabilities. These new ventures can be as varied as learning to play the piano, speak a foreign language, water-ski, or invest in the stock market.
The principle remains the same—you must experience failure in order to succeed. If you expect to learn without making a mistake, you are in for an unpleasant surprise. Imagine Mozart or Beethoven trying to compose music so cautiously that they never hit a wrong note. Do you think they would have been able to compose masterpieces if they totally avoided mistakes?
In fact, Beethoven was no stranger to failure. At one stage in his music career a music teacher said that he had no talent for music. The teacher even remarked that “as a composer he is hopeless.”
The more you try to grow your knowledge and experience in new and challenging areas, the more mistakes you will have to make. Much of this potential for growth boils down to being willing to take risks. Author Carole Hyatt wrote that aggressive CEOs will tell their direct reports: “If you haven’t failed at least three times today you haven’t tried anything new.” And she adds that avoiding failure leads to avoiding risks—“a type of behavior not well suited to most businesses in today’s economy.” So if you want to succeed more quickly, heed the surprisingly sage advice— double your failure rate .
If you want to be more successful . . .
“double your failure rate.”
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