Succeed by Studying Failure
October 10th, 2008. Published under The Ultimate You. No Comments.
Many self-help books and entrepreneurial guides tell us that we will succeed if we study those who are themselves successful. While this is often a good strategy, we cannot all be just like Donald Trump, Bill Gates, or Oprah Winfrey. Sometimes we learn best by seeing what not to do.
If you are starting a new business in a city or town, consider the businesses in the area which have failed recently. Do you share any commonalities? Did any of these commonalities lead to the other business’s downfall? While people don’t like to talk about their failures, you may learn a tremendous amount from speaking with those who did not succeed.
Even if your ambition is not to own your own business, you can improve your standing in your own workplace by observing your co-workers’ reprimands. If Tom is rebuked for not starting enough projects, maybe you should inspect your own initiative. If Betty is told to be more courteous to customers, treat the next difficult person with respect and dignity. You will become a better employee and will have fewer confrontations with your boss. In learning by trial and error, not all the errors have to be our own.