IMB’s founder, Thomas J. Watson, had once said that if you want to succeed, you have to “double your rate of failure”. While this may sound counter intuitive, the opposite is actually true. Many businessmen are afraid to fail for they believe that falling short means being weak.
However, more often than not, failure is the first step towards succeeding. It is impossible to grow a business without being unsuccessful at first.
Failure is a great driving force for growth and change especially in business. It ignites a person’s desire to become better and to strive even more to achieve his goals. It also inspires entrepreneurs to become creative in handling the hindrances that may come their way. It allows them to come up with solutions that can shift their path towards a more positive one.
One thing a businessman has to remember is that there is no way to know what lies beyond failure without trying again.
Failure is an important component in the recipe for success. It teaches us valuable lessons and it also fosters innovation.
The key is not delving on the negative side of failure and instead using it as a reason to strive for something better along the way.