Business Failure or Re-jigging for Success?
Some things are not new, and the maxim that persistence leads to success is one of these. Back in the middle of the 19th Century American Educator Thomas H. Palmer wrote in his â??Teacherâ??s Manualâ??, 'Tis a lesson you should heed, try, try again. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. This definitely applies to the business environment as well, and business managers and business owners often benefit from bearing these things in mind when they experience failure that needs re-jigging for success.
Why is failure always an opportunity in disguise in business? Surely pigheadedly persisting in the face of it is just plain stupid. Not at all, if these success stories of some of the great names in history are anything to go by.
o I read somewhere that Thomas Edison had over a thousand attempts at making an electric light bulb before he succeeded. What made him win? He identified the bits that worked each time and refined his ideas until everything finally came together.
o Winston Churchill is another good example. He did not give up when the British public bundled him out of office at the end of the First World War. He knew too much about the importance of timing good ideas for maximum impact, and bounced right back when the right time for his returned. After that, he saved his country.
o The personality I really like is Ronald Reagan. He certainly did not succeed the first time he ran for American President (or the second time either) but when he came back the third time with a more appropriate policy platform he certainly did, and went on to end the Cold War.
Were these people each a failure at one time in their lives? Nobody thinks so now, although at the time many people probably thought they were. Did you notice the common denominator? All three people had two things in common, and these two things were persistence, and learning from mistakes. Failure in business accepted gracefully, and applied when re-jigging for success can lead on to opportunity in these ways:
o Greater clarity concerning the objective
o Better understanding of the business environment
o Sharper understanding of what has to change
o Enhanced resolve to drive through next time
Two minds are better that one when the road ahead does not seem clear. This is where a good business coach [http://www.whycoachingworks.com/johnstandaloft] can help by being both a sounding board and a mirror too. Successful people know that taking wise counsel is important â?? I am sure that Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan all did have some form of coaching in their process of re-jigging for success.
Why is failure always an opportunity in disguise in business? Surely pigheadedly persisting in the face of it is just plain stupid. Not at all, if these success stories of some of the great names in history are anything to go by.
o I read somewhere that Thomas Edison had over a thousand attempts at making an electric light bulb before he succeeded. What made him win? He identified the bits that worked each time and refined his ideas until everything finally came together.
o Winston Churchill is another good example. He did not give up when the British public bundled him out of office at the end of the First World War. He knew too much about the importance of timing good ideas for maximum impact, and bounced right back when the right time for his returned. After that, he saved his country.
o The personality I really like is Ronald Reagan. He certainly did not succeed the first time he ran for American President (or the second time either) but when he came back the third time with a more appropriate policy platform he certainly did, and went on to end the Cold War.
Were these people each a failure at one time in their lives? Nobody thinks so now, although at the time many people probably thought they were. Did you notice the common denominator? All three people had two things in common, and these two things were persistence, and learning from mistakes. Failure in business accepted gracefully, and applied when re-jigging for success can lead on to opportunity in these ways:
o Greater clarity concerning the objective
o Better understanding of the business environment
o Sharper understanding of what has to change
o Enhanced resolve to drive through next time
Two minds are better that one when the road ahead does not seem clear. This is where a good business coach [http://www.whycoachingworks.com/johnstandaloft] can help by being both a sounding board and a mirror too. Successful people know that taking wise counsel is important â?? I am sure that Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan all did have some form of coaching in their process of re-jigging for success.
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